E-3 Visa Legal Counsel Jobs
Legal Counsel roles qualify for E-3 visa sponsorship as specialty occupations requiring a law degree and bar admission. Australian-qualified lawyers can secure two-year renewable E-3 status without entering an H-1B lottery, making U.S. in-house and law firm positions genuinely accessible with the right employer and credentials in place.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Global Product Legal is the dedicated legal team for the product, operations, and engineering organization, covering product counseling, creator and industry partnerships, music rights, and AI development. We partner with business teams, legal specialists, and cross-functional partners to build strategies and execute on product and business initiatives, while navigating a complex regulatory environment and maintaining stakeholder trust. You will work with product, operations, and engineering from early planning through launch, helping deliver products and initiatives used by billions of people. TikTok is looking for a transactional attorney to join its fast-growing team of music lawyers in the United States to primarily support the “SoundOn” music distribution platform. This is an opportunity to partner with the SoundOn product team and music legal team colleagues to help shape and grow SoundOn’s suite of services as it expands its scope and geographic reach. The role may also assist in scaling music license coverage of TikTok, the world’s leading short video platform, the digital music streaming service TikTok Music, and other digital properties that feature music. This is a highly collaborative, on-site role that requires five days per week in the office located in Culver City, CA.
Responsibilities
- Draft and negotiate music distribution and various types of license agreements with independent artists and independent record labels for the SoundOn platform.
- Provide legal guidance to the SoundOn business and product teams with regard to structuring rights deals with artists and labels, and draft / negotiate related agreements, in connection with music rights administration (sound recordings, music publishing) and artist branding / endorsement arrangements.
- Providing ongoing review of and updates to SoundOn’s license agreement templates across various use cases.
- Draft and negotiate full catalogue music license agreements with record labels, aggregators, music publishers and performing rights and collective management organizations, for various owned and operated digital properties.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Juris Doctor from an ABA-accredited law school and active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
- Minimum of 3 years of hands-on experience drafting and negotiating agreements for the licensing, administration, and/or acquisition of recorded music and music publishing rights, including artist/talent recording services, label partnerships, multi-platform digital distribution rights, and publishing rights administration.
- Member in good standing of a U.S. state bar association (with ability to register as in-house counsel if working from a different jurisdiction).
- Excellent analytical, communication, drafting, and negotiation skills.
- Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and manage multiple matters simultaneously against tight deadlines.
- Ability to effectively manage stakeholder expectations and clearly articulate risk/benefit analyses with recommended solutions.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with blanket sound recording and/or music publishing rights licenses in the digital music space.
- Prior in-house experience at a digital music service, music distributor, or streaming platform.
ABOUT TIKTOK
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.
WHY JOIN US
Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and bring joy – a mission we work towards every day. We strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
TikTok is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.
TIKTOK ACCOMMODATION
TikTok is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://tinyurl.com/RA-request
COMPENSATION
- Compensation Description (Annually): The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $127680 - $212040 annually. Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.
Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).
The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.
FOR LOS ANGELES COUNTY (UNINCORPORATED) CANDIDATES:
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment:
1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
3. Exercising sound judgment.
INTRODUCTION
Global Product Legal is the dedicated legal team for the product, operations, and engineering organization, covering product counseling, creator and industry partnerships, music rights, and AI development. We partner with business teams, legal specialists, and cross-functional partners to build strategies and execute on product and business initiatives, while navigating a complex regulatory environment and maintaining stakeholder trust. You will work with product, operations, and engineering from early planning through launch, helping deliver products and initiatives used by billions of people. TikTok is looking for a transactional attorney to join its fast-growing team of music lawyers in the United States to primarily support the “SoundOn” music distribution platform. This is an opportunity to partner with the SoundOn product team and music legal team colleagues to help shape and grow SoundOn’s suite of services as it expands its scope and geographic reach. The role may also assist in scaling music license coverage of TikTok, the world’s leading short video platform, the digital music streaming service TikTok Music, and other digital properties that feature music. This is a highly collaborative, on-site role that requires five days per week in the office located in Culver City, CA.
Responsibilities
- Draft and negotiate music distribution and various types of license agreements with independent artists and independent record labels for the SoundOn platform.
- Provide legal guidance to the SoundOn business and product teams with regard to structuring rights deals with artists and labels, and draft / negotiate related agreements, in connection with music rights administration (sound recordings, music publishing) and artist branding / endorsement arrangements.
- Providing ongoing review of and updates to SoundOn’s license agreement templates across various use cases.
- Draft and negotiate full catalogue music license agreements with record labels, aggregators, music publishers and performing rights and collective management organizations, for various owned and operated digital properties.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Juris Doctor from an ABA-accredited law school and active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
- Minimum of 3 years of hands-on experience drafting and negotiating agreements for the licensing, administration, and/or acquisition of recorded music and music publishing rights, including artist/talent recording services, label partnerships, multi-platform digital distribution rights, and publishing rights administration.
- Member in good standing of a U.S. state bar association (with ability to register as in-house counsel if working from a different jurisdiction).
- Excellent analytical, communication, drafting, and negotiation skills.
- Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and manage multiple matters simultaneously against tight deadlines.
- Ability to effectively manage stakeholder expectations and clearly articulate risk/benefit analyses with recommended solutions.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with blanket sound recording and/or music publishing rights licenses in the digital music space.
- Prior in-house experience at a digital music service, music distributor, or streaming platform.
ABOUT TIKTOK
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we also have offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.
WHY JOIN US
Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and bring joy – a mission we work towards every day. We strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
TikTok is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.
TIKTOK ACCOMMODATION
TikTok is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://tinyurl.com/RA-request
COMPENSATION
- Compensation Description (Annually): The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $127680 - $212040 annually. Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.
Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).
The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.
FOR LOS ANGELES COUNTY (UNINCORPORATED) CANDIDATES:
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment:
1. Interacting and occasionally having unsupervised contact with internal/external clients and/or colleagues;
2. Appropriately handling and managing confidential information including proprietary and trade secret information and access to information technology systems; and
3. Exercising sound judgment.
See all 36+ E-3 Visa Legal Counsel Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new E-3 Visa Legal Counsel Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding E-3 Visa Sponsorship in Legal Counsel
Get your credentials assessed before applying
U.S. employers need to confirm your Australian law degree meets specialty occupation standards. A foreign credential evaluation from a NACES-approved body documents that your LLB or Juris Doctor is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's or higher before your employer files the LCA.
Target in-house roles at multinational companies
In-house legal teams at U.S. subsidiaries of Australian or global companies already understand cross-border hiring. These employers have established HR and immigration infrastructure, making E-3 visa sponsorship a routine process rather than an unfamiliar request.
Clarify your bar admission status upfront
Many Legal Counsel roles require active bar admission in at least one U.S. jurisdiction. Determine before applying whether you'll need to sit a bar exam, and note that some employers will sponsor your E-3 while you await results under a foreign legal consultant arrangement.
Use Migrate Mate's E-3 filing service for the LCA step
The DOL Labor Condition Application is filed by your employer before your visa application, and errors at this stage delay everything. Use Migrate Mate's E-3 filing service to handle your LCA and visa paperwork so the process moves cleanly from offer letter to consulate appointment.
Request the LCA before booking your consulate appointment
You can't schedule your visa interview without a certified LCA. Once your employer submits through the DOL FLAG system, certification typically takes seven business days. Build that window into your start-date negotiation so your consulate booking isn't delayed by an uncertified application.
Negotiate a start date that accounts for consulate scheduling
E-3 interview slots at Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth vary in availability. Confirm appointment wait times on the U.S. embassy scheduling portal when you receive your offer, and communicate realistic timelines to your employer before signing to avoid visa-related breach-of-contract issues.
E-3 Visa Legal Counsel: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find Legal Counsel jobs that offer E-3 visa sponsorship?
Search Migrate Mate to filter Legal Counsel roles by E-3 sponsorship history. Most standard job boards don't surface visa sponsorship data, so you can spend weeks applying to roles where the employer has never filed an E-3. Migrate Mate narrows the field to employers who have a documented track record of sponsoring Australian professionals.
How much does it cost to get an E-3 visa?
Migrate Mate's E-3 filing service covers the entire process for $499, including the Labor Condition Application, visa document preparation, and consulate appointment guidance. Traditional immigration lawyers charge $2,000–$5,000+ for the same work. The E-3 has less paperwork than most work visas, so paying thousands for legal help is usually unnecessary.
Does a Legal Counsel role qualify as a specialty occupation for the E-3?
Yes. Legal Counsel positions require a law degree as a minimum and are consistently recognized by USCIS as specialty occupations. The key is ensuring your job offer letter specifies that a Juris Doctor or LLB is a mandatory requirement for the role, not merely preferred, since USCIS scrutinizes that distinction during adjudication.
How does the E-3 compare to the H-1B for Legal Counsel roles?
The E-3 has no lottery and no annual cap, so an employer can file for you at any point in the year and expect an outcome without a random selection event. The H-1B cap-subject lottery means most applicants wait until October at the earliest, with no guarantee of selection. For Australian lawyers, the E-3 offers a direct path the H-1B doesn't.
Can I change employers on an E-3 while working as Legal Counsel in the U.S.?
Yes, but the new employer must file a fresh LCA and you'll need a new E-3 visa stamp if your current one has expired, which usually means returning to Australia for an interview. You can begin working for the new employer once their LCA is certified and you have a valid E-3 visa reflecting that employment.