Pre-Trial Process

So what is actually supposed to be going on while you are sitting in the hall like a jerk while the lawyers are in with the judge? Each state has Family Laws and each county court can have local rules. The following are the local rules for my county court as to the purpose of pre-trial conferences. This general idea is likely to be common in other jurisdictions, but you must check your county court's local rules to be sure. They may be posted on the web.

• narrow the legal issues in controversy;
• admit to facts not in dispute;
• stipulate to the genuineness of documents and other exhibits to be introduced at trial;
• advise the Court on the need and time required for additional discovery and establish a binding discovery schedule;
• exchange medical reports, psychological reports, and hospital records;
• exchange reports of expert witnesses expected to be called at trial;
• address issues of asset valuation
• discuss referral to Family Conciliation Service, the Investigation Department, and/or any available alternative dispute resolution program.
• discuss allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of the child(ren);
• discuss content of proposed shared parenting plans; and
• determine if additional pretrial conferences are necessary

In practice, I’ve found that the lawyers just bicker and jockey for positions without really following these rules. I have challenged my lawyers on the above items, but it can be difficult to get a lawyer to follow your directions.

Some actions are contradictory. Ideally there should be an effort to negotiate a settlement. Some discovery, witness, and expert witness activities are not needed if settlement is successful. You will want to push your lawyer toward settlement activities early on rather than wasting time (and lots of money) on preparing for a trial that hopefully will never occur. In practice lawyers will try to spend time on trial preparation first and play a waiting game on the settlement. This has the added benefit (for the lawyers) of increasing billable hours. Nice gig, huh? Try to redirect and manage your lawyer, but it will be difficult.

I will review the entire local rule text and may post an edited copy (removing references to where I live).