OPT Legal Assistant Jobs
Legal Assistant jobs are a strong fit for F-1 OPT students with degrees in paralegal studies, legal studies, or political science. Most roles fall under SOC code 23-2011, which qualifies for standard 12-month OPT authorization, with STEM extension eligibility depending on your degree classification.
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Get Access To All JobsLocation
Boston
Employment Type
Full time
Location Type
Hybrid
Department
Go to Market
Compensation
* $180K – $250K • Offers Equity • OTE 75/25
Additionally, this role is eligible to participate in our equity plan and benefits program. Benefits include, but not limited to: Comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits (401k match up to 4%), and flexible PTO.
Why Harvey
At Harvey, we’re transforming how legal and professional services operate. By combining frontier agentic AI, an enterprise-grade platform, and deep domain expertise, we’re reshaping how critical knowledge work gets done for decades to come.
This is a rare chance to help build a generational company at a true inflection point. We have strong product-market fit and world-class investor support. We’re scaling fast and defining a new category in real time. The work is ambitious, the bar is high, and the opportunity for growth — personal, professional, and financial — is unmatched.
Our team moves fast, takes ownership, and is deeply committed to the mission — operating with intensity, staying close to our customers, and pushing each other for excellence. We live by three values: Decisiveness, Simplicity, and Job's Not Finished. We act quickly on clear judgment over perfect information, we believe simplicity is what scales, and we're never satisfied with where we are. If you want to do the best work of your career alongside people who share that drive, we'd love to build with you.
At Harvey, the future of professional services is being written today — and we’re just getting started.
Role Overview
As a Legal Engineer Associate, you’ll play a critical role in ensuring our law firm and in-house customer users are set up for success. You will deliver tailored training, create education strategies that align with legal workflows, and serve as a trusted guide to customers adopting Harvey across practice groups and legal departments.
Your legal training and experience will allow you to connect deeply with our users, helping them to translate their own legal acumen into productive and innovative use of Harvey’s platform. You’ll work across a diverse range of clients, primarily mid-market and enterprise customers, and partner closely with Sales, Customer Success, and Product.
This is a high-impact, customer-facing role ideal for someone with a few years of legal practice experience and a passion for shaping the future of legal work.
- Deliver engaging and customized product training to attorneys at leading law firms and corporate legal departments
- Partner with Account Executives and Customer Success Managers and more senior Legal Engineers to understand client goals to design and deliver enablement sessions that maximize value
- Support onboarding, expansion, and renewal efforts by ensuring users are confident and proficient with the platform
- Gather feedback from training sessions and pass insights to Product and Engineering teams to inform development
- Build scalable training content, including documentation, videos, and quick reference guides tailored to practice areas
- Evangelize Harvey internally and externally as a leader in AI-powered legal technology
What You Have
- A J.D. and typically 1–3 years of relevant practical experience in legal practice, legal technology or a related role.
- Practical experience building agents, prompts or workflows for legal use cases, plus the legal judgment to know when you need guidance. We are interested in what you have built and how you tested and improved it.
- Clear communication, curiosity about AI and the ability to become fluent in a product quickly through hands-on use.
- An appetite for frequent customer interactions, repeatable delivery and detailed work on useful customer resources.
- Strong follow-through and comfort incorporating direct feedback. We welcome candidates from a range of schools, employers and routes into legal work.
Compensation
$180,000 - $250,000 USD OTE 75/25
Depending on your location, an Applicant Privacy Notice may apply to you. You can find all of our Applicant Privacy Notices here.
LI-LS1
Harvey is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by law.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made by emailing accommodations@harvey.ai
Location
Boston
Employment Type
Full time
Location Type
Hybrid
Department
Go to Market
Compensation
* $180K – $250K • Offers Equity • OTE 75/25
Additionally, this role is eligible to participate in our equity plan and benefits program. Benefits include, but not limited to: Comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits (401k match up to 4%), and flexible PTO.
Why Harvey
At Harvey, we’re transforming how legal and professional services operate. By combining frontier agentic AI, an enterprise-grade platform, and deep domain expertise, we’re reshaping how critical knowledge work gets done for decades to come.
This is a rare chance to help build a generational company at a true inflection point. We have strong product-market fit and world-class investor support. We’re scaling fast and defining a new category in real time. The work is ambitious, the bar is high, and the opportunity for growth — personal, professional, and financial — is unmatched.
Our team moves fast, takes ownership, and is deeply committed to the mission — operating with intensity, staying close to our customers, and pushing each other for excellence. We live by three values: Decisiveness, Simplicity, and Job's Not Finished. We act quickly on clear judgment over perfect information, we believe simplicity is what scales, and we're never satisfied with where we are. If you want to do the best work of your career alongside people who share that drive, we'd love to build with you.
At Harvey, the future of professional services is being written today — and we’re just getting started.
Role Overview
As a Legal Engineer Associate, you’ll play a critical role in ensuring our law firm and in-house customer users are set up for success. You will deliver tailored training, create education strategies that align with legal workflows, and serve as a trusted guide to customers adopting Harvey across practice groups and legal departments.
Your legal training and experience will allow you to connect deeply with our users, helping them to translate their own legal acumen into productive and innovative use of Harvey’s platform. You’ll work across a diverse range of clients, primarily mid-market and enterprise customers, and partner closely with Sales, Customer Success, and Product.
This is a high-impact, customer-facing role ideal for someone with a few years of legal practice experience and a passion for shaping the future of legal work.
- Deliver engaging and customized product training to attorneys at leading law firms and corporate legal departments
- Partner with Account Executives and Customer Success Managers and more senior Legal Engineers to understand client goals to design and deliver enablement sessions that maximize value
- Support onboarding, expansion, and renewal efforts by ensuring users are confident and proficient with the platform
- Gather feedback from training sessions and pass insights to Product and Engineering teams to inform development
- Build scalable training content, including documentation, videos, and quick reference guides tailored to practice areas
- Evangelize Harvey internally and externally as a leader in AI-powered legal technology
What You Have
- A J.D. and typically 1–3 years of relevant practical experience in legal practice, legal technology or a related role.
- Practical experience building agents, prompts or workflows for legal use cases, plus the legal judgment to know when you need guidance. We are interested in what you have built and how you tested and improved it.
- Clear communication, curiosity about AI and the ability to become fluent in a product quickly through hands-on use.
- An appetite for frequent customer interactions, repeatable delivery and detailed work on useful customer resources.
- Strong follow-through and comfort incorporating direct feedback. We welcome candidates from a range of schools, employers and routes into legal work.
Compensation
$180,000 - $250,000 USD OTE 75/25
Depending on your location, an Applicant Privacy Notice may apply to you. You can find all of our Applicant Privacy Notices here.
LI-LS1
Harvey is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by law.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made by emailing accommodations@harvey.ai
See all 550+ OPT Legal Assistant Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Legal Assistant Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as a Legal Assistant
Target law firms that regularly hire OPT candidates
Mid-size and large law firms with active immigration or corporate practices hire OPT students regularly. Search Migrate Mate to filter for employers with a documented history of OPT-friendly hiring in legal support roles.
Confirm your degree supports the Legal Assistant SOC code
USCIS requires your OPT employment to be directly related to your degree. A paralegal studies or legal studies degree maps cleanly. Political science and pre-law degrees can qualify if your duties align with your coursework.
Apply before your OPT start date is finalized
Law firms move slowly on hiring decisions. Starting your search 60 to 90 days before your OPT authorization begins gives employers time to process paperwork without feeling rushed by your work authorization timeline.
Highlight legal research and writing skills prominently
Employers screening OPT candidates want proof of practical skills immediately. Emphasize Westlaw, LexisNexis proficiency, brief drafting, and document review experience on your resume, since these reduce onboarding time for busy practices.
Ask directly about H-1B sponsorship during later interview stages
Legal support roles at larger firms often lead to H-1B visa sponsorship after OPT. Raise this question after receiving an offer, not during early interviews, and frame it around your long-term commitment to the firm.
Consider in-house legal departments at large corporations
Corporate legal departments at companies like Google, Amazon, or major financial institutions hire Legal Assistants and have dedicated immigration counsel on staff, making OPT authorization and future H-1B sponsorship significantly more straightforward.
Legal Assistant OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Legal Assistant job qualify for F-1 OPT work authorization?
Yes, Legal Assistant roles qualify for F-1 OPT as long as the position is directly related to your degree field. Degrees in paralegal studies, legal studies, political science, or criminal justice typically support this connection. Your DSO will confirm the relationship between your specific degree and the role before authorizing employment.
Can I work as a Legal Assistant on OPT without a paralegal certificate?
Yes. A paralegal certificate is not required for OPT eligibility or for most Legal Assistant positions. What matters for OPT purposes is that your degree field relates to the role. Many employers prefer candidates with relevant degrees and writing skills over formal certification, particularly for entry-level legal support positions.
Do law firms typically sponsor Legal Assistants for H-1B visas after OPT?
Some do, particularly mid-size and large firms in corporate, immigration, and intellectual property practices. Sponsorship is less common at small firms due to cost and limited HR infrastructure. Demonstrating strong performance during your OPT period significantly improves your chances. Searching Migrate Mate for employers with a history of sponsorship is a practical first step.
Is Legal Assistant work eligible for a STEM OPT extension?
Standard Legal Assistant roles classified under SOC 23-2011 are not on the STEM OPT designated degree list, so STEM extension is not available for this SOC code. However, if your underlying degree is in a STEM field and you pursue a role in legal technology, compliance analytics, or e-discovery with a qualifying employer, a STEM extension may apply.
What happens to my OPT authorization if I change law firms during my OPT period?
You can change employers during OPT, but you must report the change to your DSO within 10 days through your school's SEVIS reporting system. There is no formal transfer process with USCIS for OPT, but the new position must still be directly related to your degree. A gap between positions is allowed up to a 90-day unemployment limit across your full OPT period.