Justin Baldoni’s lawyer in the $400 million legal battle with “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively is being sued for malpractice, according to a new report.
Bryan Freedman – the celebrity lawyer who has compared himself to a “pit bull” – is facing a civil lawsuit and a state bar complaint over his handling of another suit involving Baldoni, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
In 2021, Freedman represented a man named Travis Flores in a copyright case against Baldoni and his production firm Wayfarer.
The suit alleged Baldoni stole an idea from Flores’ script “Three Feet Distance” for Baldoni’s 2019 film “Five Feet Apart.”
The two sides settled the suit in 2022.
Both scripts were romantic stories about a couple living with cystic fibrosis – a genetic, life-threatening disorder form which Flores suffered. Flores died last year at age 33 from complications related to the disease.
Years earlier, he appeared in Baldoni’s docu-series “My Last Days” about people living with terminal illnesses to discuss his diagnosis.
Flores’ husband, Clement Souyri, is now alleging legal malpractice, invasion of privacy and defamation – saying Freedman “traded up” from his “seriously ill client” to Baldoni, the “healthier client,” according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in California state court.
Souyri, now the administrator of his late partner’s estate, reportedly filed a formal complaint in July with the California State Bar, too. The organization did not immediately answer a Post request for comment.
He claimed that after Flores’ death, Freedman betrayed attorney-client privilege and misrepresented Flores’ case as the lawyer defended himself in the media.
Attorney-client privilege survives a client’s death in federal court, where the original copyright lawsuit was filed, the Hollywood Reporter noted.
In a statement earlier this year, Freedman touched on the Flores case as he defended his choice to represent Baldoni, who’s best known for his role in “Jane the Virgin,” in his litigation against Lively.
“Over the years, I have learned what great people Justin and Wayfarer are,” Freedman said in a March statement.
“The [Flores] case was resolved without any determination of liability on Justin’s or Wayfarer or any other defendant’s part. Since then, it has been further confirmed to me that Justin and Wayfarer are exceedingly honorable and highly ethical.”
Freedman did not immediately respond to noti.group’s request for comment.
Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, her publicist and the New York Times was tossed in June after a federal judge argued Lively’s sexual harassment claims and the newspaper’s reporting were legally protected.
The “Gossip Girl” star accused Baldoni of sexual harassment – including sharing unwanted details of his sex life and porn addiction – during the filming of their romantic drama, which premiered in August 2024. She alleged Baldoni then orchestrated a smear campaign against her.
The New York Times – which is now suing Baldoni for legal costs in the dropped case – published a detailed investigative report on Lively’s claims, as well as her full legal complaint.
Freedman has represented celebrities like actor Kevin Spacey and singer FKA Twigs in several other high-profile cases, gaining a reputation for his aggressive approach along the way.
Freedman previously told the Hollywood Reporter, “If you f–k with my client, you get what you get.”
The attorney is currently representing Vin Diesel in a lawsuit accusing the actor of sexually assaulting an assistant on the set of the 2011 film “Fast Five.”
Recent court documents obtained by TMZ called out Freedman for allegedly trying to intimidate the plaintiff’s attorney in that case. Lawyer Matthew Hale alleged Freedman called him a “moron,” cursed at him and swung a fist at his face, stopping short of hitting him.
Freedman also recently represented “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone during intense contract negotiations with Paramount this summer. The show ultimately won a $1.5 billion deal for streaming alone over the next five years.
In 1991, Freedman reportedly paid $40,000 to settle an allegation he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl while he was in college, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
When asked whether Freedman alerted the California State Bar about that settlement, the organization told the Hollywood Reporter, “Moral character reviews are confidential.”
They declined to comment on the bar’s 1991 standards, but added: “We can say that today, serious allegations, including those involving sexual assault, would be given serious and appropriate consideration in the moral character review process.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
