Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) requires the parties to meet and confer early in the case to discuss discovery and case management issues. This meeting is often called the “Rule 26(f) conference” or the “meet-and-confer conference.”
The purpose of the conference is to allow the parties to discuss the scope of discovery, develop a joint discovery plan, address issues involving electronically stored information, and consider the possibility of settlement before significant discovery begins.
The Rule 26(f) conference also affects the timing of related deadlines, including initial disclosures and the filing of the joint discovery plan.
In many federal cases, the court may alter the timing of the Rule 26(f) conference through a scheduling order or other case-management order. Users should always compare the calculated deadline with the court’s scheduling order, local rules, and any case-specific order entered by the judge.