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The first hearing between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's lawyers began on February 3, 2025, with Michael Gottlieb (Lively's lawyer) mentioning the website created by Baldoni's team. For the unversed, Baldoni recently launched a website with his 168-page complaint, detailing a "timeline of relevant events" during the filming of It Ends With Us after he was accused of s*xual harassment by co-star Blake Lively.
According to USA Today, the website also reportedly included text messages, emails, and other forms of communication between the director, Blake Lively, and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
The website was established to provide evidence of the allegations mentioned in Baldoni's lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds, filed in January 2025, in which he accused the A-list couple of using their power to "hijack" his film.
During the hearing, Gottlieb mentioned the website in court, wanting to know who created it.
"Who created the website? Who funded it?" Gottlieb questioned.
Michael Gottlieb is a litigation and crisis management partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, an international law firm with branches across six countries. The firm, founded in 1888, is headquartered in New York City.
Michael Gottlieb graduated from Harvard Law
According to his LinkedIn profile, Michael Gottlieb earned his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University. Gottlieb got his JD at Harvard Law School in 2003. Following his graduation, he started his legal career as the law clerk to Judge Stephen Reinhardt.
According to his profile at the Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP website, Michael Gottlieb was the associate counsel for former president Barack Obama between 2009 and 2010. He also worked in Afghanistan as the Deputy Director and Senior Civilian when employed by the White House Counsel.
Before joining Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Michael Gottlieb was a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP for over five years between 2013 and 2019. He has been working at Farr & Gallagher LLP as a litigation and crisis management partner since January 2019. According to his LinkedIn profile, Michael Gottlieb's areas of expertise include:
"Focus on high-stakes litigation, investigations, and crisis management in response to enterprise-threatening challenges, including government investigations and enforcement actions across a wide range of subject matter areas."
Michael Gottlieb was dubbed one of the leading litigators in the United States, having been nominated for American Lawyer’s 2023 Attorney of the Year. In 2024, Forbes included him in its Top 200 Lawyers list.
He has represented several high-profile clients like CITGO Petroleum Corporation, LifeLock, Inc. and Sony Pictures Entertainment, among others. According to Variety, he is also reportedly the lawyer for Drake in his impending lawsuit against UMG regarding Not Like Us.
Not much is known about Michael Gottlieb's personal life.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's trial will begin in 2026
The scandal around It Ends With Us unfolded after Blake Lively accused her co-star Justin Baldoni of s*xual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her, which first broke in a New York Times article in December 2024. The actress also sued Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, his production company, after the story went public.
Following this, Baldoni filed several countersuits, one against The New York Times for defamation and one against Lively and her husband, Ryan Renolds, for defamation and civil extortion among other allegations.
The lawyers for both parties met with Judge Lewis Liman for their first hearing on February 3, 2025. During the hearing, both lawyers accused each other of badmouthing their opposing clients outside of court, with Michael Gottlieb alleging Freedman violated professional ethics rules by accusing Lively of "bullying."
Lively's attorney also said the public persecution between both parties in the media resulted in an “arms race” that led to him and Freedman acting like “two 4-year-olds in a playground.”
However, Freedman argued it was not a "one-way street," adding his statements were made to support his client, who was "devastated" after the New York Times article was published.
Lively and Reynolds also reportedly requested the court grant a gag order against Freedman. The judge denied the request, however, he warned both lawyers that he would postpone the trial to prevent prejudice among the jury if either lawyer continued their accusations against each other in the media.
“You’ve got a lot in front of the court that gives, I think, the public plenty to feast upon,” the judge said.
Following this, the judge barred both lawyers from making out-of-court statements regarding the case, invoking the New York Bar Association Rule 3.6.
The legal controversy surrounding the It Ends With Us cast will take to court next year with the trial scheduled for March 2026.
