A practical lesson in litigating with the government

In his Bank Lawyer's Blog, Kevin Funnell describes the federal government as "The Everyready Energizer Defendant". While he is discussing a shareholder derivative action, he points out a good general administrative law lesson, quoting Arnold & Porter attorney Michael Johnson:

But he cautions private parties now contracting with the government to be careful. When the crisis ends, he says, politics can come into play and "hindsight can make the deals look a little different. Government is uniquely situated to alter the terms of the deals everyone thought were good at the time. Hopefully the lesson learned here is that the government does need to keep its promises. If it chooses not to, there are consequences," he says. "Another lesson for the private parties is the wheels of justice can turn a little slowly."

In my experience, federal regulatory agencies have (and, through the Department of Justice, have access to) many skilled, experienced, and dedicated attorneys. If pushed, they can fight back. Mr. Funnell quotes another source describing litigating with the government as dancing with a bear - you stop dancing when the bear gets tired. EMM