A pretrial conference—also known as a pretrial hearing or scheduling conference—is an informal meeting or discussion in the early stages of a lawsuit during which the attorneys and the judge work to schedule important deadlines in the lawsuit; identify important witnesses and documents; discuss settlement; and narrow the issues for trial.

The court will usually sign a pretrial order that includes its rulings and the parties' agreements on the matters discussed at the pretrial conference.

The pretrial conference is essentially a project management plan for the litigation. The timing of the pretrial conference and the issues to be addressed are usually included in the state's rules of civil procedure or code of civil procedure—or in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in federal court.

In Alabama, a pretrial conference is a procedural step in the civil litigation process where the parties, through their attorneys, meet with a judge to discuss the case and set a timeline for the various stages leading up to the trial. This conference aims to streamline the issues, identify key evidence and witnesses, explore settlement possibilities, and establish deadlines for motions and discovery. The outcomes of the pretrial conference are typically documented in a pretrial order, which outlines the court's decisions and the agreements made by the parties on the matters discussed. The specifics of when a pretrial conference occurs and what it entails are governed by the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. These rules provide a framework for the efficient management of the case and help ensure that it progresses in a timely and orderly fashion towards trial or settlement.