Blake Lively Adds High-Profile Epstein Victims’ Lawyer Before Justin Baldoni Trial

Blake Lively has added Sigrid McCawley, a well-known lawyer who has represented Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, to her legal team as her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni heads toward trial, PEOPLE reports. McCawley will focus on handling public communications and media matters for Lively’s case.

It is a privilege to get to work with Blake Lively’s world class legal team on a case that at its core is about a woman who was subjected to a hostile work environment and is being attacked for standing up to protect herself and other female co-workers, McCawley, the managing partner of Boies Schiller Flexner, said.

Lively, 38, is already represented by attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, who have been managing the case through months of discovery disputes, sealed filings, and subpoena battles in the Southern District of New York.

We are thrilled that Sigrid has joined Blake’s legal team in this important role handling our public-facing communications. We recruited Sigrid based on her many years of work speaking truth to power, including her courageous representation of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, and have no doubt her experience will serve the team well, Gottlieb and Hudson said.

McCawley is recognized for her work with survivors of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, including Virginia Giuffre, in cases that exposed Epstein’s abuse network and resulted in high-profile settlements and criminal prosecutions. She previously represented Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, after Baldoni countersued her, a case that was dismissed by a judge in June 2025.

Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, filed in December 2024, alleges s**** harassment and retaliation related to her work on the film It Ends With Us. Baldoni denied the claims and filed a countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. That countersuit was later dismissed by a judge.

The case has been delayed from its original March trial date to May 2026. A key hearing is scheduled for January 22, where the judge will hear arguments on Baldoni’s motion for summary judgment, which seeks to dismiss some or all of Lively’s claims before the trial.

In May 2025, Lively’s attorney confirmed she plans to testify. Yes. The ultimate moment for a plaintiff’s story to be told is at trial. We expect that to be the case here [with Lively]. So we would, of course, expect her to be a witness at her trial. Of course she’s going to testify, Gottlieb said. Baldoni’s legal team has also been strengthened with the addition of Alexandra Shapiro, who has previously represented Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Aside from her ongoing legal battles, Lively has remained a prominent figure in the entertainment world. She recently starred in the romantic drama It Ends With Us, which was a massive box office success in late 2024, grossing over $350 million globally despite the off-screen turmoil.

Looking forward, Lively is set to reprise her role as Emily Nelson in the highly anticipated sequel Another Simple Favor. The film, which wrapped production in early 2025, reunites her with Anna Kendrick and director Paul Feig, taking the story of the twisted friendship to the glamorous shores of Capri, Italy.

Lively continues to manage her beverage brand, Betty Buzz, and frequently supports her husband Ryan Reynolds at his various sports and film ventures. While the legal proceedings have dominated recent headlines, her professional slate remains busy with several projects in various stages of development.

Do you think hiring a high-profile attorney known for representing victims in major national cases will change the public’s perception of this Hollywood legal battle? Share your thoughts in the comments.