Build criteria from the vacancy
Use the hiring brief to define the capabilities that are essential, useful and trainable. Connect each criterion to a responsibility the successful person will actually assume.
Record evidence, not impressions
For each criterion, note the interview example, work sample, reference or credential verification that supports the rating. Use an insufficient-evidence category instead of silently converting missing information into a positive score.
Keep non-negotiables separate
A strong overall impression should not override an unmet required qualification, unverified credential or a work-model condition the employer cannot change. Keep those items visible through the decision.
Keep the hiring decision with the employer
BEGHR helps employers prepare permanent-hire searches. The employer decides whom to hire and directly employs the successful person. Scope, fees, candidate ownership, timing and any replacement terms are established in the written engagement before a search begins.
A scorecard template for legal roles
One row per criterion, five columns. Fill the first three before sourcing and the last two during the process.
- Criterion: one capability or requirement the role depends on, written as the work it enables.
- Weight: essential, important or useful. Essential criteria are pass or fail, never averaged.
- Evidence source: interview question, writing sample, reference, official verification.
- Rating: clear, partial or insufficient evidence, with the example recorded next to it.
- Verification: for admission, standing or a required certification, the authority checked, the result and the date.
Sample criteria by search
Associate attorney: owns matters of the stated size without supervision; drafts the core documents the practice produces; manages client contact at the stated level; meets the billable or productivity expectation; admitted and in good standing where required. In-house counsel: advises the named business units; manages outside counsel and budget; makes decisions at the stated authority level; handles the contract and regulatory mix; communicates risk to non-lawyers. Paralegal: runs the matter workflow end to end; operates the named systems; manages volume and deadlines across several attorneys; meets the accuracy standard on documents.
Weighting and thresholds
Keep essential criteria to four or five. A candidate who misses one does not advance, whatever the overall impression. Important criteria decide between candidates who clear the essentials. Useful criteria break ties and should never pull a candidate above one who is stronger on the work. Agree the thresholds with the hiring panel before the first interview so the recruiter can screen against the same standard.
From scorecard to offer
When the scorecard is complete, the offer decision is a reading exercise rather than a debate. Compare the shortlist on essentials first, then important criteria, then verification status. Hold the offer until admission and standing are confirmed through the District of Columbia Bar. BEGHR returns 3 to 5 screened candidates with written fit summaries against the same brief, so the scorecard and the recruiter’s screen line up.