Blake Lively‘s trying to keep her famous friends out of her lawsuit fracas … because this case isn’t about them, it’s about Justin Baldoni‘s treatment of her — this according to her lawyer.

Sigrid McCawley — Lively’s high-profile attorney who famously represented victims of Jeffrey Epstein — spoke to reporters outside a Manhattan courthouse Thursday after a hearing in the case wrapped.

McCawley told the assembled media Lively’s standing up for all the young women out there … becoming a real-life example for those who might be afraid to reveal they’ve been sexually harassed in the workplace.

This makes a settlement more difficult to come to, Sigrid explains … because she says this case is about more than money — there are principles at stake here, too.

In the same vein, McCawley says Lively is trying to protect her friends — like Taylor Swift — and their public images … but, ultimately, McCawley says it’s not about them. It’s about the harassment she faced on the set of “It Ends With Us.”