Pretrial Conference - Divorce Encyclopedia

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Term Definition Pretrial Conference - a meeting of the parties with a judge before the trial.

Application in Divorce Often held in camera, these conferences give the parties a sense of the court’s general impressions and sense of the issues.

Sometimes, in divorce actions, differences can be ironed out in pretrial conferences. In divorce actions, sometimes a pretrial conference, though held close to an anticipated trial date, can lead to settlements that eliminate the trial.

Judges call and conduct pretrial conferences as they see support; but sometimes the parties agree on one issue but not the others.

A judge’s questions during a pretrial conference often give the parties, particularly their lawyers, a sense of the judge’s view of the case. This can be an incentive to settle.