The Young and the Restless 'What If' Week of Feb. 16, 2026: attorneys throw a wrench into the AI battle between Victor, Cane, and Phyllis

The Young and the Restless began a big boardroom bonanza storyline last summer with the reintroduction of Cane Ashby, a man who teased that he was going to use an Artificial Intelligence program to take down all the power players in Genoa City -- Jack Abbott, Victor Newman, and Nikki Newman. The way he was talking, we got the impression that not even Esther's tip jar at Crimson Lights was safe from Cane. Since then, the AI creator has had the rug pulled out from under him, and he's paying for his schemes big time.

Soap Central is now posing a "What if?" question, and that query is, what if the lawyers got involved? We suspect a few high-powered attorneys being put on retainers may help bring these ongoing boardroom battles to a close, and, in the process, create some interpersonal conflicts!

Paging Christine, Michael, and (keep reading) Avery on The Young and the Restless

Christine, Michael, and Avery on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

Chris (Lauralee Bell) is back from her honeymoon with Danny (Michael Damian), and she's already getting involved with a legal case by representing poor, unwell Mariah (Camryn Grimes), who made off with little Dominic (Ethan Ray Clark).

She might want to lend her services to the rest of the Newman clan. The fact that Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) loathes Christine is all the more reason Victor (Eric Braeden) and his family need to retain Chris's legal expertise. Phyllis is more likely to make a misstep if Christine is on the case.

For starters, Chris might want to file an injunction against Phyllis, who has illegally (does that get said enough?)acquired assets owned by Newman Enterprises. The AI program might have hidden the transfer, but surely a judge would think it's curious that all of a sudden that Phyllis owns all of Victor's holdings. What, Victor just signed them over? Why? There'd have to be enough circumstantial evidence that would prompt a judge to take action!

Victor could also reinstate Michael's (Christian LeBlanc) status as his right-hand attorney. Michael and Chris have made a formidable legal team in the past. Phyllis would feel deeply betrayed if her on-again/off-again pal Michael were to team up with Chris to fight her in court.

Cane's representation

Cane needs his lawyer, Amanda, right now on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

Conversely, Cane (Billy Flynn) would do well to ask Amanda (Mishael Morgan) to start reporting for work. She fell off the scene months ago, and that was to Cane's detriment. Had she been around, she might have advised him to steer clear of Phyllis. Sure, Phyllis and Amanda are pals, but if Amanda would likely put that aside to do what's in the best interests of her friend and client, Cane.

Cane also might want to consider hiring Avery Bailey Clark (Daytime Emmy-winner Jessica Collins). She's been absent from the Genoa City scene for too long. Like Christine, Avery has a backstory and personal history with Phyllis. Just as it would hurt Phyllis knowing Chris and Michael were working against her, she'd also not like that her own sister was, too.

Avery isn't out for corporate greed like a lot of people involved in this tale. She has worked for the Innocence Project, an indicator that she champions justice. We could see her being sympathetic to Cane because he's been not only duped by Phyllis, but also attacked by her. (Remember when she overpowered Cane and chloroformed him?) That's assault, no?

Attorneys for the Abbotts on The Young and the Restless

Jack, Diane, and Amanda on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

Who's going to represent the Abbotts in all this? Newman Media did not report all the facts when it did its story on Jabot Cosmetics shutting down its operations last year. The reason Jack did that with his company was that he didn't want Victor to use the AI program to destroy Jabot. Leaving out that little bit of the story (which wasn't so little) is a big conflict for Newman. Even Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) pointed that out to Adam (Mark Grossman).

A good lawyer could represent Jabot in a libel case against Newman Media, now owned by Billy, which would result in a big legal jam, because Jabot likely lost business after Jack took action. Could you imagine Jabot suing Billy?

Jack could reach out to Amanda to take his case. He and Amanda's twin (the late Hilary, also played by Morgan) had a nice friendship. Jack could use this as a springboard to open up a conversation.

Level-headed Leslie on The Young and the Restless

Leslie and Victor on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

One attorney who could be counted on to bring a great deal of objectivity to the Newman/Abbott/AI/Cane/Phyllis drama would be Leslie Michaelson (Angell Conwell). Additionally, Leslie lived in Genoa City long enough to know who all the players are. She's not going to have to be brought up to speed on who's who and what's what.

Leslie could present cases of everyone involved to a judge and argue convincingly what needs to be done.

And just what is that? Well, it depends. A judge might convict Phyllis, Cane, and Billy of fraud, for starters. There's the case of Newman Media for libel. The rest is going to be challenging to prove. Maybe someone needs to start wearing a wire to gather some confessions on audio?

These aren't just any lawyers. For the most part, they have interpersonal relationships with the parties involved. Their presence in this storyline would add levels of drama beyond their roles as attorneys.

The folks who truly need to hire lawyers, though, are all the workers at Newman Enterprises, Jabot Cosmetics, Chancellor Industries, and Newman Media. Those unseen faces have seen their lives and livelihoods thrown into turmoil, all because Cane had this great idea to make everyone bow down to him in an attempt to rewin Lily's love, and because Victor doesn't like that Jack helped Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) stay sober!

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.