allycat

Basically, but remember that there differences between TN law and the "law" you are learning for the MBE. Learning the black letter law first seemed to make it a lot easier to learn how Tennessee distinguishes from that "law."

I'd say that works pretty well for evidence -- learn the federal rules of evidence you need to know for the MBE and then learn the TN distinctions. They are similar. However, for criminal law on the MBE, you are learning black letter law -- which you will never see again after passing this exam -- and for the essay portion, you are learning actual state statutes. There seemed to be quite a few differences between TN criminal statutes and MBE black letter law.

I'd say the plan works best for things that haven't changed a lot over the years, like contracts and property and torts. Learn the MBE "law" and then learn the state distinctions. There are certain state applications to each subject that you will have to learn -- like how TN treats damages for torts and how TN applies its landlord tenant act for property. Even con law wasn't bad, once you got down the black letter law (which is based on actual federal case law).