This article appeared in Marketing the Law Firm, an ALM/Law Journal Newsletters publication reporting on the latest, and most effective, strategies for Chief Marketing Officers, Managing Partners, Law Firm Marketing Directors, Administrators and Consultants.

As a firm leader it is your fiscal responsibility to address underperforming attorneys. Altman Weil reports in their Law Firms in Transition Survey 2019 that 84.2% of firm leaders say they have "chronically underperforming lawyers." With COVID-19 are your underperformers flying under the radar? The cost to a firm is not only to the bottom line, but to your reputation as a leader.

It became apparent to me, while doing 10 years of exit interviews that partners in their 15^th to 20^th year of practice leave because of underperformers. These partners felt stifled. They questioned their ability to move into better client relationships or leadership roles. Associates see and hear these grumblings and wonder how this will affect their future career.