𧩠Florida court orders an AI-free sanctions response
PLUS: Paramount's nonvoting investors and Weil's latest M&A departures
September 18, 2026
Lookzy: all your daily legal news in 0.1 billable hours. Plain English coverage of deals, litigation and legal trends trusted by lawyers at Cravath, Latham, Skadden, Gunderson and elsewhere.
Welcome to Lookzy. In today's Lookzy:
A Florida court orders a lawyer to leave AI out of her response
Starbucks promises no race- or sex-based employment preferences
Foreign investors could take bigger Paramount stakes, without a vote
OpenAI makes its own move into legal research and drafting
THE VERDICT
Arguing today's litigation news
Write it yourself. A Florida appeals court wants lawyer Jaclyn Soroka to explain why she shouldn't be sanctionedâwithout using AI to write the response. Its September 16 order gives her ten days. The court suspected AI-generated material in filings that cited real cases but contained gibberish, frivolous legal arguments and factual assertions contradicted by the record. It denied her 61-page emergency petition and raised the possibility of a Florida Bar referral. Soroka says she takes the ruling seriously and will respond; she declined to discuss whether she used AI.
Starbucks rules out preferences. Starbucks promises no race- or sex-based quotas or preferences in hiring, promotions or pay under a settlement that Florida's attorney general's office says applies nationwide. The coffee chain denies wrongdoing in the state's suit over its diversity policies. It will pay $1 million in litigation costs and certify compliance annually for four years.
Wiping the balance. Credit Acceptance will forgive $634 million in debt for more than 55,000 borrowers to resolve claims that it steered people into unaffordable car loans and add-ons they didn't need or weren't told about. One alleged example: a $260 monthly payment for a mother of two earning $950 a month. The subprime lender collected $8,400 and the car was repossessed twice. The resolution with 40 states and DC also includes a $60 million consumer-relief fund. Credit Acceptance denies wrongdoing.
THE DEAL
Wheelin' and dealin' today's corporate news
Equity without a vote. Foreign investors can take substantial stakes in Paramount Skydance's planned $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, provided they get no voting stock, management control or influence over content. The FCC's Media Bureau waived the 25% foreign-equity cap; the Ellison family and RedBird would hold all voting shares. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the acquisition ahead of a March trial in twelve states' challenge.
Trading needles for pills. Novo Nordisk is working with Orbis Medicines to turn treatments usually given by injection into pills. Their collaboration targets cardiometabolic diseases using Orbis's AI-enabled drug platform. Orbis could receive up to $1.4 billion in upfront and development and commercial milestone payments, plus royalties. Novo will also make a separate strategic investment; neither that amount nor the upfront payment was disclosed.
BOILERPLATE
OpenAI hangs a shingle. OpenAI is pitching firms its own legal research and drafting product, Astra for Law, while also letting Harvey, Legora and others build on its model. Access initially goes to selected firms, with protections promised for confidential client work.
Another M&A exit for Weil. A week after six Weil partners' move to Cravath, the firm is losing London M&A leader David Avery-Gee and partner Sarah Flaherty to Sullivan & Cromwell. Avery-Gee will co-head S&C's European M&A practice.
Alright, back to billing. That's all, folks!
