Sentence:  The first pretrial conference - held to appoint amici curiae to represent the interest of the stockholders of du Pont and General Motors and to consider the procedure to be followed in the subsequent <WSD>hearings</WSD> - took place on September 25 , 1957 . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  (law) a proceeding (usually by a court) where evidence is taken for the purpose of determining an issue of fact and reaching a decision based on that evidence