Pretrial Conference

Rule 16 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure provides a process where parties can narrow a number of issues by virtue of a pretrial conference.  The interesting part of the Rule to me is that the Rule provides that that the Court "shall" conduct one if requested by any party.  In a complex case either in tort or family law, this may be the best way to get the issues narrowed down along with getting evidentiary issues resolved.  Where judges limit the amount of time to present a case, this can be invaluable in making sure all the evidence and vital witnesses are presented at trial as opposed to spending an hour arguing over i.e. hearsay or Daubert motions.