OPT Legal Associate Jobs
Legal Associate roles in the U.S. are open to F-1 OPT students with degrees in law, political science, or a related field. Most positions involve legal research, drafting, and case support under attorney supervision. Your 12-month OPT window is enough to establish yourself, and a STEM extension is not available for this field, so timing your job search matters.
Find OPT Legal Associate JobsOverview
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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 Associate Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Legal Associate Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as a Legal Associate
Target law firms that regularly hire foreign-educated candidates
Boutique immigration, international arbitration, and compliance firms are more accustomed to OPT work authorization than general practice firms. These employers have existing processes for hiring F-1 students and are less likely to be deterred by your status.
Lead with your OPT authorization upfront
State clearly in your cover letter that you hold a valid EAD and are authorized to work immediately. Removing ambiguity about your status early prevents your application from being filtered out by hiring managers unfamiliar with OPT.
Emphasize legal research and writing skills with concrete examples
Legal Associate roles are highly competitive. Highlight specific memos, briefs, or research projects from your coursework or internships. Employers want evidence of practical output, not just familiarity with legal concepts or academic credentials.
Prioritize roles at companies with existing H-1B sponsorship history
If your goal is long-term sponsorship, focus your search on employers who have sponsored H-1B visas before. Past sponsorship behavior is the strongest signal that a firm will support your transition beyond OPT.
Start your search at least three months before OPT begins
Legal hiring timelines are often slow, with multiple interview rounds and background checks. Starting early gives you enough runway to complete a full process and begin employment while your OPT authorization is still valid.
Be prepared to explain your degree equivalency if you studied abroad
If your law degree is from outside the U.S., some employers will ask how it compares to a J.D. or LL.M. Having a credential evaluation report ready and knowing which tasks you are qualified to perform legally in your role avoids confusion.
Legal Associate OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can F-1 OPT students work as Legal Associates in the U.S.?
Yes. F-1 students authorized for OPT can work as Legal Associates as long as the role is directly related to their field of study, such as law, political science, or a related discipline. You must have a valid Employment Authorization Document before your start date. The role must fall within your authorized OPT period.
Does a Legal Associate role qualify for STEM OPT extension?
No. Legal Associate positions fall under law and policy fields, which are not on the STEM Designated Degree Program List. This means F-1 students in this role are limited to the standard 12-month OPT period. If long-term U.S. work authorization is your goal, you will need an employer willing to sponsor an H-1B or another nonimmigrant visa before your OPT expires.
What visa options exist after OPT ends for Legal Associates?
The most common path is H-1B sponsorship. Legal Associate roles typically qualify as specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field, which satisfies the H-1B standard. Some foreign nationals may also qualify for the O-1A if they have exceptional credentials. A few employers in international law also consider TN visa status for Canadian and Mexican nationals in qualifying categories.
How do I find Legal Associate jobs that are open to OPT students?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for F-1 OPT and visa-sponsored job seekers and lists Legal Associate roles from employers open to candidates on work authorization. Filtering by OPT eligibility saves you from applying to roles at firms that will not consider your status, which is a common frustration when using general job search tools.
Do Legal Associate employers typically understand OPT work authorization?
It varies significantly. Large law firms and corporations with established HR teams usually understand OPT, but smaller boutique firms may not. When you apply, be direct about your authorization type and include your EAD expiration date. Offering to answer any compliance questions your employer may have can reduce friction and signal that you are organized about your status.