WASHINGTON — Calling for “a change in our legal culture,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. devoted his year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary to a plea that lawyers “avoid antagonistic tactics, wasteful procedural maneuvers and teetering brinkmanship.”

But critics said the report praised a development that will limit the amount of information individuals can obtain from companies and the government, frustrating their ability to prove their cases.

The chief justice’s report welcomed December’s adoption of major changes to the rules governing civil litigation in the federal courts, notably limits on the pretrial exchange of information that lawyers call discovery.

“I cannot believe that many members of the bar went to law school because of a burning desire to spend their professional life wearing down opponents with creatively burdensome discovery requests or evading legitimate requests through dilatory tactics,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote.