- - Blake Lively Hires Jeffrey Epstein's Victims' Lawyer Ahead of Justin Baldoni Trial (Exclusive)

Elizabeth RosnerJanuary 16, 2026 at 8:56 PM

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Blake Lively -

Blake Lively has added high-profile attorney Sigrid McCawley to her legal team as her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni moves closer to trial

Echoing Lively's allegations, McCawley said the case “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”

The trial is scheduled to begin in May 2026

Blake Lively has added high-profile attorney Sigrid McCawley — a longtime advocate for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims — to her legal team as her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni moves closer to trial, PEOPLE can exclusively confirm.

McCawley’s primary role will be handling communications with the public and the media on key matters related to the 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, tells PEOPLE.

Lively, 38, is already represented by attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, who have overseen months of contentious discovery disputes, sealed filings and subpoena battles as both sides prepare for trial in the Southern District of New York.

Gottlieb and Hudson told PEOPLE, "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."

McCawley is best known for her work representing survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, including Virginia Giuffre, in litigation that helped expose Epstein’s abuse network and led to multiple high-profile settlements and criminal prosecutions.

She has also represented Leslie Sloane, Lively’s publicist, after Baldoni countersued her — a case that was dismissed by Judge Liman in June 2025.

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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni

The Gossip Girl actress' addition comes at a critical moment in the case, as the court prepares to unseal additional depositions, text messages and other records that are expected to become central evidence in the legal fight.

An upcoming hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22, when the judge is set to hear arguments on Baldoni’s motion for summary judgment, a filing that seeks to have some or all of Lively’s claims dismissed before the case reaches a jury.

The case was initially scheduled to go to trial in March but has since been pushed to May 2026.

In a May 2025 court hearing, Gottlieb confirmed that Lively herself will take the stand.

“Yes,” Gottlieb said when asked if Lively would testify. “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.”

Back in September, Baldoni’s legal team was bolstered by the addition of defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro, who has represented Sean “Diddy” Combs.

In December 2024, Lively sued Baldoni and others at Wayfarer Studios, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation related to her experience working on It Ends With Us, which he denied. Baldoni later filed a countersuit accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, 49, of defamation and extortion — claims that were later dismissed by a judge.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”