The Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni legal feud has an interesting new update. On Monday, their attorneys met in federal court for the first time amid their complex legal battle. Their feud has been attracting widespread attention from social media users.

Neither Lively nor Baldoni were in the New York court for the pre-trial conference. During the session, Judge Lewis Liman warned their attorneys to avoid making statements in public that could impact the proceedings and the jury’s verdict. If the parties try to litigate this case in the press, the judge said he might move up the trial. Meanwhile, currently, their trial is going to take place in March 2026.

Advertisement

Attorneys for both Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni emphasized in court the negative impact the case has had on their clients. Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman stated, “My clients are devastated financially and emotionally.” He also claimed that his clients have suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. He said they want the case to move forward swiftly for their “future livelihood.”

On the other hand, Lively’s attorney Michael Gottlieb stated the “retaliation campaign” by Baldoni’s team has been “devastating” for her. “You’re not supposed to launch attacks on the other party’s character.” Gottlieb revealed that he plans to file an amended complaint by February 14. This will include new claims and additional defendants.

In a statement after the hearing, Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, Lively’s attorneys, said they the results pleases them. As per CNN, they stated that they are “eager to move forward immediately with discovery in this case.” The attorneys added “The Court granted our request that all attorneys in the matter actually follow the rule of law and not make any statements that could prejudice a jury. This case deals with serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. We will hold the defendants accountable. And we are confident that once all the evidence is submitted in this matter, Ms. Lively will prevail.”

Also Read: Justin Baldoni launches website to quash Blake Lively’s claims; emails and texts revealed

The feud first started after Blake Lively sued Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment She claims that after calling out his behaviour, Baldoni reacted with a smear campaign against her. Following this, Justin Baldoni first sued The New York Times after they detailed Lively’s accusations. The actor-directed accused the outlet of reporting unverified information. Subsequently, he counter sued Lively and Ryan Reynolds for $400 million claiming that they conspired with the media to tarnish his reputation. His suit also states that Lively leveraged her friendship with Taylor Swift to pressure him to go ahead with her ideas for the film.