Justin Baldoni has added another high-profile attorney to his legal team amid his battle against Blake Lively.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, a notice of appearance was filed on Monday, September 15. The paperwork notified the court that lawyer Alexandra Shapiro would be joining as counsel for Baldoni, 41, and Wayfarer Studios. The notice was filed by Shapiro.
Shapiro is a New York–based criminal defense attorney who has represented Sean “Diddy” Combs and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Before cofounding her firm, Shapiro served as a clerk for the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Us has reached out to Baldoni for comment.
Baldoni and Lively’s legal drama began in December 2024. The actress, 37, accused her It Ends With Us costar and director of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and running a smear campaign against her. Baldoni vehemently denied the allegations.
Baldoni subsequently countersued Lively and accused her of attempting to smear his name. His lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Lewis J. Liman in June.
While Lively got the legal win at the time, her lawsuit against Baldoni remains ongoing. The pair are scheduled to head to trial in May 2026.
“The court decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign, and it does not in any way affect our vigorous defense against Ms. Lively’s claims,” Baldoni’s attorney said in a statement at the time. “Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations. Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us.”
As Baldoni and his team began preparing for trial, Lively was deposed by Baldoni’s lawyers in New York City in July. Us previously reported that Baldoni was present for the deposition.
Blake Lively suffered a small setback in court after a judge denied her effort to obtain communications sent by Justin Baldoni’s legal team to content creators or the press about her, Us Weekly can confirm. On Monday, August 4, a New York federal judge ruled on the motion filed by Baldoni’s lawyer’s firm Liner Freedman […]
“We are very pleased with the outcome of her deposition, and now look forward to deposing Justin Baldoni and each of the codefendants in short order,” a spokesperson for Lively previously said in a statement to Us. “Deposition testimony is confidential for good reason — it’s evidence in a legal proceeding and is subject to objections and evidentiary rules. Juries aren’t just handed deposition transcripts to read at home, and instead they listen to testimony that is presented at trial under a judge’s supervision.”
Earlier this month, news broke that an additional person came forward against Baldoni. According to court documents obtained by Us, the person, whose name was redacted, accused Baldoni of verbal abuse and claimed that the actor was not “permitted on set during the majority of production as a result of those experiences.”
The accuser could potentially serve as a witness against him in his and Lively’s upcoming trial.
Baldoni has not addressed the allegations.
