Author: Brian Lambert

  • Singleton to Pioneer Press: Bend Over

    Reporters and other Guild employees at the St. Paul Pioneer Press got their first look at the totality of the plan owner Dean Singleton and his privately-held MediaNews group has in store for their next contract. That assumes of course you can call what Singleton wants from the Pioneer Press a “contract.” By the time…

  • Moyers on Murdoch

    In the 24/7 news cycle this commentary from Bill Moyers on Rupert Murdoch’s seduction of the current owners of the Wall St. Journal is now ancient history … but still relevant. After so many weeks of following All Things Par I have to be careful not to imagine parallels and connections where few exist. But…

  • If Only We Could All Get in Touch with Our Inner Par

    For me, the on-going Par Ridder saga/scandal/circus has become an anthropological study as much as legal story. I’ve seen the rich operate before, but rarely with such a flagrant indifference to moment and setting. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve misspent thousands of hours fawning over movie and TV stars, (and local TV news readers…

  • The Mystery of Par and Avista.

    It comes as a relief to find out I’m not the only one who can’t get his head around why Avista Capital Partners didn’t sever ties with Par Ridder the first day they heard about his non-compete problem? I am not sure, nor are a handful of local attorneys I’ve spoken with in recent days,…

  • Day 2: Par Takes the Stand

    A little after 11 this morning Par Ridder took the stand in his own defense. It would be an understatement to say he and his legal team have a ways to go to get back in the game. The battle is over him essentially waiving his own non-compete to leave St. Paul for Minneapolis and…

  • Par in Court: This is (Will Be) Expensive.

    As I watched close to a dozen attorneys negotiate out the last few details before opening the temporary injunction hearing against Par Ridder in the Ramsey County Courthouse this morning, I couldn’t help but run numbers and wonder how many friendly telephone switchboard ladies you could buy for the amount of cash that was being…