Silicon Valley Judges Ask Lawyers to Cut Out the Gamesmanship

Judges serving on the California federal court covering Silicon Valley said litigators have become increasingly combative and hyperbolic in their motion practice, which bogs down court resources and does little to improve outcomes for clients.

“Routine motions, just because you can file them, is a waste of our time, it’s a waste of your time, and it increases our workload so we can’t get to the real important things,” Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers told attorneys and law students at a Federal Bar Association event in the Oakland, Calif., federal courthouse Tuesday evening.

There was a time when lawyers rarely filed ...