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 Rhode Island, 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 plan for the trial. This conference aims to streamline the issues, schedule deadlines for motions and discovery, identify witnesses and key documents, explore settlement possibilities, and generally manage the case to avoid unnecessary delays. The Rhode Island Rules of Civil Procedure govern the conduct of pretrial conferences in state court cases. The judge typically issues a pretrial order following the conference, which outlines the agreements made, the schedule for the case moving forward, and any other instructions or rulings pertinent to the preparation for trial. In federal cases, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure would apply, and similar objectives would be pursued during the pretrial conference.