Blake Lively Drops Longtime Publicist Leslie Sloane After Justin Baldoni Battle

Blake Lively is cleaning house after her brutal legal war with Justin Baldoni ... cutting ties with longtime publicist Leslie Sloane after nearly two decades together.

Page Six reports Blake dropped Sloane -- who had been with her since the "Gossip Girl" days -- months after Blake and Baldoni finally settled their scorched-earth "It Ends With Us" legal war.

Sloane wasn't just watching the legal mess from the sidelines either ... Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit dragged her and her firm, Vision PR, directly into the fight ... accusing them of taking part in a smear campaign against him. Those claims were later dismissed.

As TMZ previously reported, Blake and Justin settled in May just weeks before trial ... with no money changing hands in the settlement.

We'd also reported there was plenty of behind-the-scenes drama in Blake's camp leading up to the deal, including her bringing in powerhouse law firm Susman Godfrey.

The legal bills kept flying even after the truce ... Blake later sought more than $8 million in fees and costs, but a judge ultimately awarded her about $400K.