1) Before the first witness 2) Conference before a hearing 3) Kind of hearing 4) Like some legal motions 5) Like some motions 6) Preceding 7) Type of legal hearing 8) When depositions are taken 1) Preceding 
[adj] - preceding an official trial 2. [n] - (law) a conference held before the trial begins to bring the parties together to outline discovery proceedings and to define the issues to be tried
pretrial conference noun (law) a conference held before the trial begins to bring the parties together to outline discovery proceedings and to define the issues to be tried; more useful in civil than in criminal cases
a proceeding held by a judge, arbitrator, etc., before a trial to simplify the issues of law and fact and stipulate certain matters between the parties, in order to expedite justice and curtail costs at the trial.