Short answer. You cannot have one there. The preliminary conference is conducted by the judge personally, without the parties being assisted by counsel. Only afterwards, and only if the court deems it useful, may counsel assist at the succeeding conferences and hearings.
What the law says
A preliminary conference shall be conducted by the judge personally without the parties being assisted by counsel. After the initial conference, if the court deems it useful, the parties may be assisted by counsel at the succeeding conferences and hearings.
Family Code, Article 243 — Preliminary Conference Without Counsel. Read the full provision →
The judge personally, and only the spouses
Two exclusions are packed into the first sentence. The conference is conducted by the judge personally, so it is not delegated to a clerk or a court-annexed officer. And it happens without the parties being assisted by counsel. The point is to get the spouses talking directly, in front of the judge, about a narrow question that may well dissolve once each hears what the other actually wants. Lawyers are not being disparaged; they are being kept out of a conversation the law wants to be between the two people concerned.
Counsel later is discretionary, not automatic
The second sentence relaxes the rule but does not reverse it. Counsel may assist at the succeeding conferences and hearings if the court deems it useful. That is the judge's judgment to make, not the parties' choice, and it may be exercised differently as the case develops — a matter that turns out to involve a complex property arrangement is a likelier candidate than one settled by a single question. So plan on appearing yourself and treat representation later as a possibility rather than the design of the case.
You may still be advised beforehand
The prohibition is on being assisted at the conference; it says nothing about preparing for it. Nothing stops you from consulting a lawyer in advance, having the petition drafted properly, understanding what the court can and cannot grant, and knowing what you are willing to agree to. That is where advice does most of its work in these proceedings anyway. A person who arrives having thought through the specific transaction or authority sought, with the documents in order, is not disadvantaged by standing there alone.
What to bring and how to use the hour
Bring the documents the petition rests on — the title or records for the property, the marriage certificate, the proposed deed if there is one, and your proof of notice to the other spouse — and bring them organised enough to hand up. Be ready to say, briefly, what you are asking for and why the other spouse's consent is unavailable. And listen: the conference is the stage at which a matter can be resolved outright, and a proposal you had not considered may be the fastest route to the authority you came for.