The competing lawyers convinced 435 class members to opt out of the settlement before U.S. District Judge Gary Lancaster invalidated the opt-outs and barred the lawyers from talking to class members any more.

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The U.S. Court of Appeals announced Tuesday Lancaster will begin investigating whether Herman took a cash bribe or solicited illegal campaign donations while she was a White House aide to President Bill Clinton.

CNN: Private Attorney Chosen To Investigate Alexis Herman

In 1987-88, the U.S. Supreme Court appointed the Harvard-educated Lancaster as a special master for a civil case involving New Jersey and Nevada.

CNN: Private Attorney Chosen To Investigate Alexis Herman

PLC, a U.K. real-estate firm, recently invested in a former brewery in Lancaster, in northwest England.

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