The U.S. Supreme Court’s newly announced rule changes will force advocates to make their briefs briefer, an unwelcome development for high court practitioners.

The changes announced Thursday, which take effect July 1, will limit briefs on the merits to 13,000 words, down from the current 15,000-word limit. Amicus briefs filed by nongovernmental entities will shrink from 9,000 to 8,000 words.