A coalition of 18 law firms that specialize in Supreme Court advocacy told the court Friday that proposed rules aimed at trimming the length of briefs “would be harmful” to lawyers’ ability to “thoroughly and thoughtfully brief issues that are critical to the court’s resolution of the cases before it.”

The firms’ letter to Supreme Court Clerk Scott Harris added that “a high percentage of the Court’s merits cases are of great national importance and therefore warrant comprehensive briefing.”