(1) Conference. The administrative law judge, as a matter of discretion, with or without a motion from a party, may direct the attorneys for the parties to appear before the administrative law judge for a conference to consider:

(a) The simplification of the issues;

(b) The necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings;

(c) The possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents which will be premarked for admission into evidence in order to avoid unnecessary proof;

(d) The limitation of the number of expert witnesses; and

(e) Other matters that may aid in the disposition of the case.

(2) Order. The administrative law judge shall make an order which recites the action taken at the conference, the amendments allowed to the pleadings, and the agreements made by the parties as to any of the matters considered, and which limits the issues for hearing to those not disposed of by admissions or agreements of counsel. The order when served and filed controls the subsequent course of the case, unless it is modified at the hearing to prevent manifest injustice.