Blake Lively could face legal action over allegations in her sexual harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni, a legal expert tells PEOPLE.

According to Gregory Doll, a partner at Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles, Lively, 37, could go to court if a “mediation solution” is not found between her and her your It ends with us co-star Baldoni, 40, over his alleged harassment toward her on the set of the film, which was detailed in the complaint she filed this week. (Doll is not involved in the case and does not represent either party.)

Lively is suing Baldoni, who also directed the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel, for sexual harassment, followed by a public smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation. Other members of the production team and people who were allegedly involved in the alleged smear campaign against them are also the subject of the complaint. Lively is seeking unspecified damages.

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, told PEOPLE in a statement on Dec. 21 that Lively’s complaint was intended to “enhance her negative reputation.” He added that her allegations were “false, outrageous and deliberately salacious with the intent to cause public harm.”

Freedman also claimed that Lively caused problems during filming, including “threats not to show up on set, threats not to promote the film, which ultimately led to its downfall during release.”

Lively, meanwhile, made a statement about the matter The New York Timesand said, “I hope my legal action will help lift the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak out about wrongdoing and protect others who may be targeted.”

The California Department of Civil Rights, where Lively filed the complaint, has 60 days to decide whether to investigate the case. Doll tells PEOPLE that they could “try to broker a resolution with the employer (Baldoni)” and Wayfarer Studios, which Lively is also suing, before accepting the lawsuit.

If a settlement cannot be reached, “they (Lively) will dismiss the so-called right of action and give him the right to sue,” Doll further explains. “(This) means she can now go to court and file her lawsuit there.”

Doll said that while it is common practice in Hollywood to reach settlements in legal cases, Lively’s complaint has the potential to go to trial on the specific allegations.

“The most likely cases that go unresolved are ones like this, where things get very personal between two people,” he tells PEOPLE. “The reason for this is … when you engage in what we call discovery, when you exchange documents and find out some of the things that are going on behind the scenes that you didn’t know about, the plaintiff becomes outraged.”

“She’ll see more text messages and more emails and more claims … and it might be like, ‘I’m going to take this to court where I’m going to expose the whole thing,'” Doll adds.

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However, the lawyer believes that mediation is more likely to occur in this case.

“If (Lively’s) main goal was just to get this narrative out there and expose what he was doing, then she’s already doing that,” Doll says. “She may not want to continue with a years-long legal battle… She may not want to continue with a major legal battle, she’s already putting her story in the press.”

Doll also tells PEOPLE that he believes Baldoni will “one hundred percent” take action against Lively.

“I could think of a small exception where that wouldn’t be the case, but based on what I’ve observed, it’s almost certain that he’ll file a counterclaim,” he says.

Following Lively’s complaint, Baldoni was fired from his talent agency, WME, on December 21.