Justin Baldoni Hires Sean Diddy Combs’ Powerhouse Lawyer for Explosive Blake Lively Legal Showdown
Justin Baldoni just raised the stakes in his dispute with former co-star Blake Lively, filing new papers to add powerhouse defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro to his team as the legal showdown intensifies.
Because of course this thing is still going: Justin Baldoni just brought in another heavyweight attorney as his fight with Blake Lively ramps up again. The short version: he added Alexandra Shapiro to his defense team, and that says a lot about how serious (and messy) this case has gotten.
Who Baldoni just hired
New court papers filed in New York federal court confirm that Alexandra Shapiro of Shapiro Arato Bach LLP is now representing Baldoni and his co-defendants. That group includes publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, plus Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath.
Shapiro is one of those attorneys you bring in when things are high-profile and high-risk. She currently represents Sean 'Diddy' Combs and has represented FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Before co-founding her firm, she was a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In other words: not a casual hire.
Where the case stands
This addition comes with the discovery deadline looming in the civil case between Baldoni and Lively. Earlier this month, a redacted filing surfaced alleging Baldoni verbally abused an individual who, according to the document, had repeated negative interactions with him and his team. That filing dropped into an already tense situation.
Lively sued in December 2024, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation during the production of 'It Ends With Us' (the movie they co-starred in). Baldoni, 41, has denied everything. He tried to countersue Lively for defamation, but a judge tossed that countersuit in June 2025. His lead attorney, Bryan Freedman, is still on the case, even as Shapiro joins. On Lively's side, her lawyers have asked the court to sanction Freedman for allegedly violating a court order.
Also hanging over all of this: both sides keep accusing the other of retaliation and leaking to the press. It is very inside baseball at this point, with publicists and a studio exec named as co-defendants and every filing turning into another headline.
What to watch next
- December 2024: Lively files the lawsuit alleging harassment and retaliation tied to 'It Ends With Us'.
- June 2025: Baldoni's defamation countersuit is dismissed.
- Earlier this month: A redacted filing alleges Baldoni verbally abused an individual; discovery deadline is approaching.
- October 21, 2025: Next hearing on the calendar.
- March 2026: Court records say Baldoni and Lively are set to face each other then.