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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

LOCKSTEPPING AWAY - The lockstep model might be the talent war's latest victim. Cravath, Swaine & Moore, one of the few firms to continue to deploy a pure lockstep model, announced that it would shift to a modified version of the model after suffering the loss of six partners in 2021. Some experts say the move was inevitable. Dylan Jackson unwinds how profit shares, prestige and private equity threaten the continued viability of the chosen model of some of the nation's top firms.

ICE FIGHT -  A federal appeals court is considering whether a Massachusetts judge acted corruptly when she allegedly obstructed a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest, Avalon Zoppo reports. Newton District Court Judge Shelley Joseph and former Trial Court Officer Wesley MacGregor are accused of assisting an undocumented man in evading federal immigration agents in 2018. On Monday, a panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit heard arguments seeking to overturn a decision denying dismissal of the charges against the court officers. Circuit Judge William Kayatta noted that judicial immunity wouldn't apply if Joseph acted corruptly.

STUCK IN A RUT? - The legal industry hasn't been able to shake it's old-school, risk-averse rep, according to several recent surveys. The pandemic, which required some firms to focus on short-term solutions, might've put even more of a damper on "big picture" innovation, analysts told Andrew Maloney. To solve law firm's attrition problem, some industry observers say leaders might have to reinvent their structures, perhaps going so far as to ditch the partnership model.