Created By:
Elena Kindler, JD
Format:
On-Demand Video + Personal Workbook
Duration:
60-90 Minutes
Individual Access:
$179 per student
For Law Schools · The P.A.S.S. Technique™
The research-based, neuroscience-informed program
for transforming bar exam pressure into confidence
so 3Ls can perform at their best when it counts.
The GROWING problem
The 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-Being ¹ reported that:
64% of bar exam candidates felt overwhelmed by the amount of bar prep material
48% lacked confidence and
44% experienced bar exam anxiety; in 2022, bar exam anxiety jumped to 59%.
By 2023, 77% of law students were reporting anxiety.²
And last year, 96% of law students suffered from “significant stress.” ³
And significant bar exam stress results in lower bar pass rates.
Worries about Performance Drain Cognitive Resources
Worries about ability and bar exam performance “prevent students from achieving their potential, and they drain students' executive functioning and cognitive resources, which lowers persistence and performance....” ⁴
Low Self-Efficacy
Reduces Bar Pass Rate
Students “who held low levels of self-efficacy - believing they did not have what it takes to study for the exam or to perform well on the exam - were less likely to pass the bar exam.” ⁵
The ability to reduce or cope with significant stress is “crucial” for test-takers’ performance.
Stenlund, T., Eklöf, H., Lyrén, P-E. (2017), Group Differences in Test-Taking Behaviour: An example from a High-Stakes Testing Program. Assessment in education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 24(1): 4-20, at 6. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2016.1142935
1 Jerome M. Organ, David B. Jaffe, and Katherine M. Bender, PhD, “The 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-Being: More Progress Needed in Fostering Help-Seeking among Law Students,” 91(2) The Bar Examiner 8-18 (print edition, Summer 2022), reporting on data excerpted from David Jaffe, Katherine M. Bender & Jerome Organ, "It' s Okay to Not Be Okay": The 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-Being, 60 University of Louisville Law Review 441 (2022).
2 Julia Brunette Johnson, “Most Students struggle with mental health, survey says,” The National Jurist, March 6, 2023. https://nationaljurist.com/most-law-students-struggle-with-mental-health-survey-says/
3 Mike Robinson, “6 Law Student Mental Health Statistics,” Clio (updated Aug 29, 2025). https://www.clio.com/blog/law-student-mental-health-statistics/
4 Victor D. Quintanilla & Sam Erman, Mindsets in Legal Education, 69 Journal of Legal Education 412-444, at 438 (2020) https://www.jstor.org/stable/27073496.
5 Victor D. Quintanilla et al., Mindsets in Legal Education: Summary of Findings (June 25, 2020) (report to the State Bar of California), at 5, 6 (emphasis supplied).
The Evidence
Mindset interventions work — the research is clear.
Randomized controlled trials have found that productive mindset and stress-reduction interventions significantly improved outcomes on high-stakes exams like the bar exam — particularly for female law students, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation bar applicants.
Randomized Controlled Trial Findings
+9 to +38%
The probability of passing the California bar exam was estimated to be 9 to 38 percentage points higher for applicants who received an online productive mindset intervention — with the strongest effects seen in underrepresented minorities (+16%) and first-generation bar applicants (+38%).
Victor D. Quintanilla et al., Mindsets in Legal Education: Summary of Findings (June 25, 2020) (report to the State Bar of California) at 8-9.
+11 to +17%
A 2025 randomized controlled trial found that test anxiety interventions lowered female law students' test anxiety and systolic blood pressure, which improved their scores on high-stakes exams by 11 to 17 percent.
Macrí, E., & Migali, G. (2025). The effect of test anxiety on high-stakes exams: evidence from an RCT using biomarkers. Education Economics, 33(4), 515– 533, at 516. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2024.2391801
"[W]hen bar exam candidates have resources to supplement their practice testing with self-regulated learning strategies, they will be better able to earn scores that reflect their real competence” without interference from test stress and pressure.
Stenlund, T., Eklöf, H., Lyrén, P-E. (2017), Group Differences in Test-Taking Behaviour: An example from a High-Stakes Testing Program. Assessment in education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 24(1): 4-20, at 6. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2016.1142935
The Solution
The antidote to bar exam pressure is learning how to manage stress, rehearse bar exam success, and reinforce a confident mindset.
What is The P.A.S.S. Technique™?
The P.A.S.S. Technique™ is a short, on-demand program that uses research-based, neuroscience-informed tools designed to support bar exam candidates under high pressure. It guides 3L students through a four-step process beginning with nervous system regulation and stress management. It then guides students through two Bar Exam Success Visualizations so students can practice overcoming obstacles and embody the direct experience of passing the bar exam. It concludes with techniques designed to solidify and reinforce a calm, confident, P.A.S.S. mindset.
The entire P.A.S.S. Technique™ program can be completed in under 90 minutes.
Students can access the on-demand program privately, at their own pace, and on their own schedule.
Not study tips. Not relaxation advice... A Positive Mindset Technique that Practices Success.
The 4 Steps
of
The P.A.S.S. Technique
P
PINPOINT
The P.A.S.S. Technique™ begins by helping 3Ls PINPOINT their own specific, perceived obstacles to success on the bar exam.
A
ALLEVIATE
Students are guided to ALLEVIATE unhelpful thoughts, emotions, and body sensations that can hold them back from testing at their best.
S
SIMULATE
Two Bar Exam Success Visualizations for taking and passing the bar exam give 3Ls the ability to overcome obstacles and embody the experience of bar exam SUCCESS.
S
SOLIDIFY
Students are given tools
to SOLIDIFY and reinforce the P.A.S.S. Mindset so they can perform with focus and embodied confidence on the actual bar exam.
What each student receives in the on-demand program:
— 60-Minute On-Demand P.A.S.S. Technique™ Video
— The P.A.S.S. Technique™ Personal Workbook
— 2 unique P.A.S.S. Technique™ Bar Exam Success Visualizations
— Bonus: The P.A.S.S. Technique™ Tools for Success in 10 Minutes
— Option to repeat as many times as needed before the bar exam
About the Creator
Created by a lawyer who
lived the pressure.
Elena Kindler, JD is a former NYC attorney with over 20 years of experience in elite legal environments — including a judicial clerkship, five years as a litigation associate at Sidley Austin, and 14 years as a securities regulator on Wall Street, including in-house at the New York Stock Exchange and FINRA.
Elena’s legal career was cut short when she suffered a traumatic brain injury and PTSD in a train derailment in 2016. As part of her rehabilitation, she began studying somatic techniques for nervous system regulation. Once she completed her recovery, she transitioned from a lawyer to a stress management consultant so she could help clients in high-pressure environments reduce stress and enhance their performance using these research-based tools.
She created The P.A.S.S. Technique™ to fill the gap in bar prep: helping students manage bar exam pressure and develop confidence.
– Former Attorney — Licensed in New York & Massachusetts
– Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies, Trauma Research Foundation (2020)
– Certified Trauma Professional (CTP)
– Licensed Bodywork Therapist (LMBT)
The information contained in The P.A.S.S. Technique™ program is solely for educational and general purposes and is not a substitute for medical or psychological care. Elena Kindler is not a licensed medical or mental health professional and does not provide medical or psychological advice or treatment. The P.A.S.S. Technique™ does not guarantee success on the bar exam.
Elena Kindler, JD
Former securities regulator and litigator.
Stress Management Consultant.
International Educator and Speaker.
Lawyer Change Agent and Cross-Pollinator.
Confidence and Performance Facilitator.
9/11 Survivor. Grateful Human Being.
Publications and Awards:
Elena Salzman, Note, The Quincy District Court Domestic Violence Prevention Program: A Model Legal Framework for Domestic Violence Intervention, 74 B.U. L. Rev. 329 (1994).
FINRA Outstanding Achievement Team Award
"Why are students only taught what to study?
Why aren't they taught how to manage the pressure and cultivate a confident mindset?"
✦
Partnership Opportunities
Let’s partner together.
The P.A.S.S. Technique™ is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing 3L bar prep and student wellness / academic support frameworks. There are multiple options to accommodate the specific needs of your students and institution.
Complete P.A.S.S. Program
Provides access for the entire 3L cohort of bar exam candidates.
A low-cost, high-impact addition to existing bar exam prep classes, “boot camps,” and student wellness / academic support initiatives.
Group pricing available at a significant discount
Targeted P.A.S.S. Program
Provides access for 3L students who may be at greatest risk for bar exam failure — including students with low LGPAs, non-native English speakers, students receiving academic support, and first-generation and minority students (as well as for past students who have failed the bar exam).
Group pricing available
Student P.A.S.S. Program
Your institution offers the P.A.S.S. Technique™ program as a recommended resource in bar prep, student wellness / academic support communications.
Students independently access and purchase the on-demand program at the student rate on www.thepasstechnique.com.
Student scholarships available
25%
of Law School Rankings in 2026 were based on Bar Exam Passage Rates
18% on first-time bar passage rate & 7% on ultimate bar passage rate.
Brooks, et. al, Methodology: 2026 Best Law Schools Rankings, US News and World Report (Apr. 6, 2026) https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/law-schools-methodology