How an International Law Firm Built a Defensible Editorial Hiring Standard

“Exactly the benchmark we needed — defensible, fast, and trusted by our legal team.”

— HR Director, International Law Firm

The Challenge

A leading international law firm with offices across Europe and North America was hiring editorial staff to support its growing regulatory publications division. The firm needed to hire six senior editors within eight weeks — a timeline that left no room for lengthy portfolio reviews or multiple interview rounds. More critically, the firm''s general counsel required that all hiring decisions be documented and defensible: subjective editorial tasks sent by email would not meet the firm''s procurement standards.

The Solution

The HR Director implemented EditingTests.com across all six vacancies simultaneously. Each candidate was sent the Industry Vocabulary Test (Legal Publishing specialism) and the Editing Test before any first interview. Minimum score thresholds were agreed in advance: 65th percentile on the IVT and 70th percentile on the Editing Test. Candidates who did not meet both thresholds were not progressed regardless of CV strength. The entire screening process — from sending invitations to receiving results — took under 48 hours per candidate.

The Results

All six positions were filled within the eight-week window. The documented score thresholds and standardised test methodology satisfied the firm''s legal team without any supplementary justification. The HR Director reported that interview quality improved significantly: "When you already know a candidate can do the job, the conversation changes completely." One hire who had scored in the 89th percentile on the IVT became a lead editor on the firm''s flagship regulatory journal within six months — a track record that validated the benchmark.