About Legal Support Institute (LSI)

Welcome to the Legal Support Institute (LSI)!  LSI, formerly the New Wave Program, which piloted its training program in the fall of 2004, provides a short term 12-week course that develops the skill sets for entry-level support staff clerical positions in law firms, concluding with placement assistance.

Successful job placements of graduates began in June 2005. Within 18 months, Raft's board realized they had carved a niche for entry-level placements in the personnel staffing marketplace, when legal staffing agencies began to inquire about the program, offering to conduct workshops and requesting exclusivity of graduates.  LSI graduates have consistently tested very high with legal placement agency's assessment, so much so, that some staffing agencies are using LSI graduates to fill their orders. LSI has come to a pivotal point and is now taking the primary role in the placement of our graduates.

The faculty at LSI is committed to providing a learning environment with innovative academic programs that enable student graduates to qualify for entry-level support staff clerical positions in a non-minimum wage job market. The course material and the transitioning process is of vital importance to a student's successful completion of LSI's academic courses.

LSI's program has been recognized and financially supported by the California Bar Foundation, the S. Mark Taper Foundation, the Harold Edelstein Foundation and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBSF), as well  as other individual donors.