The Case Conference is for the case to be reviewed, briefly and superficially, by a judge. The judge should give an opinion of what the outcome of the case might be.
Be aware that the judge spends minutes, not hours, not days, going over your case and the opinion is very basic. You don't get to challenge the other party's assertions and little or no evidence is examined.
The judge will go over the financial disclosures, but won't examine supporting statements in any depth.
The judge will encourage you settle, but cannot force you to. The judge will come across as VERY assertive, but cannot make an order without both parties' consent. There are some exceptions to this, if there is missing documentation, like bank statements etc, you may ask for an order to produce the statements, this type of order doesn't need consent. but otherwise, the judge cannot force any kind of settlement on you.
You may ask the judge for court ordered mediation at this point to avoid trial. The court's mediators are usually cheaper and they won't drag out the process to pad their billing. It's not a bad idea if you are considering mediation to ask for this, especially if you are on a tight budget. (We are all on a tight budget, but if you are earning six figure salaries, the judge will probably suggest you hire your own.)
If you have any problems with your ex's documentation it is a good strategy to ask for a judge's order to produce supporting documents or redo the financials. This is because almost everything from the Case Conference is "off the record" and most of the paperwork will be disposed of, it doesn't carry on to the trial. But if you get an order because your ex is trying to hide things, not producing supporting statements, etc., the judge's order can be refered to later to show that the ex is being unco-operative or was trying to hide income or assets, etc.
I would say that if you just catch this stuff verbally, and the ex produces it later, they will claim it was a mistake, but if you get an order then you can show they were hiding things. This may be a small thing or a big thing, but it is one of the few tools you can use to carry the issue forward, otherwise the Case Conference is mostly "Without Prejudice."
Similarly with mediation. You can have open or closed mediation. Closed means it's off the record. In most cases I would suggest open. Mediation is a situation where you are both putting your issues and arguments on the table. If your ex is completely unco-operative and being deceptive, manipulating facts, withholding information, then open mediation allows you to show this later. With closed mediation, your ex can be completely unco-operative, waste time and money, produce nonsense documentation, etc. and there is nothing you can carry out of the situation.
The issue is credibility and willingness to settle, if your ex is playing games then you need to be able to show this.
Before you go to the Case Conference be very clear what your boundaries are, what you are will to bend on, what you absolutely have to come away with, and WRITE IT DOWN FOR YOURSELF. The ex's lawyer will talk your head off and convince you the world is flat. The judge will come across as god and you may feel intimidated into agreeing to something you regret later, based on information that you find out later was false. Know when to bend and when to stand your ground, and keep a boundary between the two.
Have very detailed notes and copies of any documents and statements in a binder, separated by clearly labeled tabs so that you can find anything and everything in a moment. Don't hesitate to refer to your notes but don't try to turn the Conference into a trial. This is a situation to present your side, not to argue against the other side.
