Justin Baldoni's Lawyer Reacts to Blake Lively Being Awarded $400K In Attorneys' Fees

Justin Baldoni's attorney seems to have mixed feelings about the $400K attorneys' fees judgment award to Blake Lively ... because while it's a win for his client, he's still not happy with the way the law was applied to his case ... and he's taking a shot at Blake.

Bryan Freedman -- Baldoni's lawyer -- tells TMZ ... the California law used in this case, Section 47.1, is "not a perfect law, but it is an important one designed to protect real survivors, who deserve to see this law tested and perfected in the court of law."

Section 47.1 is designed to protect people who report sexual harassment from retaliatory defamation suits by opening up those who file them to awards for damages or attorneys' fees.

While Freedman says he fundamentally believes in the law, he adds, "Notwithstanding the fact that the law was applied in ways it was never intended for, my clients intentionally left Section 47.1 to be ruled on without any appellate rights to appeal as part of the settlement agreement, to prevent either party from overturning the law."

As for the judgment itself, Freedman says Wednesday's ruling speaks for itself ... because he says the judge clearly agreed that Blake's demand for more than $8 million was "outrageous and unreasonable."

He takes a parting shot at Blake ... "The ruling is a significant victory for my clients and sends a clear message that, no matter how powerful you may be, the courtroom is not a place to take advantage of the law for your own personal gain.”

We broke the story ... a judge awarded Blake $363,245.40 in attorney's fees and another $44,206.35 in costs -- a far cry from the $7,495,526.87 in fees she said she incurred in fighting his lawsuit and $539,514.01 in costs and expenses she says she incurred while defending herself.

Blake's lawyers Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb told us ... "Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties lost their meritless retaliatory $400 million lawsuit, which two different courts held was designed to stifle public criticism and silence Blake Lively and others. This first-ever award of fees and costs under this California law is historic, and demonstrates that there are real consequences of bringing retaliatory lawsuits. As we have said from day one, Blake Lively’s case was never about money – it was about accountability."

They added ... "As the recent news in the Rebel Wilson/Amanda Ghost case demonstrated, Blake Lively’s lawsuit exposed an industry of secret online smear campaigns that largely target women, and unsurprisingly involve the same players. She lifted the curtain for other victims, and set the precedent for others to come forward and expose similar conduct. This result demonstrates that the legal system is not as easily manipulated as social media, and still functions as a force for accountability."

As you know ... a judge dismissed Baldoni's defamation lawsuit against Blake and the New York Times in June, but ruled she was entitled to attorneys' fees for defeating the claim.