Jade K. Smarda, Esq.
Head Coach
Jade has coached Dayton Mock Trial since 2015. In 2019, she assumed the role of head coach, and has made it her mission to grow a (volunteer) coaching staff of talented practitioners, law students, and alumni. In her coaching capacity, Jade devotes the bulk of her time to the A team. Jade started competing in mock trial in high school, and continued through college (Miami University, B.A., 2006) and law school (University of Dayton School of Law, J.D., 2009).
Jade practices civil litigation, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Ohio (Dayton).
Callum S. Morris, Esq.
Attorney Coach
Callum is a civil practitioner, and began coaching Dayton Mock Trial in 2020. A former Dayton competitor, he coached at Michigan State University while attending law school. Callum cultivates talent by leading our B team, where most new competitors first learn the fundamentals of trial practice, the rules of evidence, and how to simplify complex issues for presentation to a jury.
Callum practices business litigation in the Dayton Office of Faruki+.
Dr. Laura Hume
Director of Prelaw Program, Educator Coach
Dr. Laura Hume became involved in Mock Trial when she became Director of the UD Pre-Law Program in 2010, and thus, the de facto educator coach for mock trial. Different directors have taken different approaches. "My job could have been entirely administrative -- simply paying the bills and giving the grades -- but I wanted to work with the attorney coach, Jon Marshall, because I thought mock trial looked exciting. Boy, was I right!" She started out working on character development with the witnesses. Since that 2010-2011 season, the program has grown from one team to two, and one attorney coach to five, so her role has evolved. These days while she still works with and travels sometimes with the team, she focus primarily on the program's tournament (the Dayton Flyers Invitational), team logistics, recruitment, and promoting our teams.
Raika Casey
Law Student Coach
University of Cincinnati College of Law, Class of 2021
Raika began competing with the University of Dayton Mock Trial team her junior year of college. Since then, mock trial has consumed her entire life. Raika graduated in the Fall of 2017, and planned on starting law school in the Fall of 2018. While most people would use this gap period between undergrad and law school to travel, work, or relax, Raika chose to remain on the team and compete with Dayton in the Spring. While a member of Dayton’s A team, Raika earned several outstanding attorney awards and was named an All-Region Attorney in 2018.
Currently, Raika is a 3L at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. She is the President of the Trial Advocacy Team and has secured top finishes at multiple law school trial team competitions. After Raika graduates from law school, she will work as a Litigation Associate at Faruki+ in both their Cincinnati and Dayton offices. Raika joined the Dayton coaching staff in 2019 and cannot imagine spending her Monday and Wednesday nights and occasional weekends doing anything else.
Trisha Chatterjee
Law Student Coach
University of Dayton School of Law, Class of 2023
Trisha began competing with Miami of Ohio's Mock Trial Team her freshman year of college. Through this, she had opportunities to travel the country and compete at the Nationals level. She fondly remembers all of the times she spent writing entirely new directs before rounds - either in the break between cases in chief, or if she was lucky, in the hotel room the night before. While on the program, she served as Captain of the A team and took way too much pride in bringing home several Spirit of AMTA awards. Trisha is now a second year law student at the University of Dayton, but still somehow spends all of her free time on mock trial. In her remaining free time, Trisha enjoys baking and buying plants.
Anna Choquette
Graduate Student Coach
Anna competed with the University of Dayton Mock Trial team from 2015-2019. She returned to the team even after graduating early to help A team make it to Nationals in 2019. Overall, Anna had 10 career personal awards including two all-regional awards and an outstanding attorney award at CUBAIT.
She owes her love of mock trial to her coaches, Dan Haughey and Jade Smarda who pushed her to compete at a level that she never knew possible. She only hopes to do them proud and push her team to that same level.
She is currently a graduate student at OSU, pursuing her Master's in Social Work.
Sydney Skidmore
Law Student Coach
Loyola University School of Law, Class of 2021
Bio Coming soon!