Morgan Stanley Sex Discrimination

The deadline to file a claim form has passed.  If you wanted to submit a claim form in the case, your claim form must have been postmarked on or before September 24, 2007.

Welcome to the website for women financial advisors of Morgan Stanley alleging class action claims of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, against Morgan Stanley DW, Inc.

This website was created by Sprenger & Lang PLLC, Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, and Moody & Warner, PA, the law firms representing the plaintiffs and class members in the lawsuit against Morgan Stanley that was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Sprenger + Lang, PLLC, Mehri & Skalet, PLLC and Moody & Warner, PA are in no way affiliated with Morgan Stanley DW, Inc.

The five-year settlement is valued at over $70 million, including a cash payment by Morgan Stanley of $46 million which will likely accrue interest of over a million dollars. Morgan Stanley will make an additional, yet to be determined payment to the Settlement Fund for the employer's share of payroll taxes. The Settlement Fund will likely approach $50 million in total. A Special Master is expected to determine the allocation of monies among the women financial advisors and registered financial advisor trainees.

The parties estimate that, in addition to the Settlement Fund, the changes called for in the programmatic relief will increase the earnings of women financial advisors by at least $16 million over five years and the diversity efforts by the Company over five years will cost an additional $7.5 million.

The class settlement with Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated f/k/a/ Morgan Stanley DW, Inc., covers approximately 2,800 women Financial Advisors and Registered Financial Advisor Trainees employed at Morgan Stanley at any time from August 5, 2003 through June 30, 2007. Judge Richard W. Roberts of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia preliminarily approved the settlement on July 17, 2007 and held a fairness hearing on October 11, 2007.

Among the highlights of the programmatic relief are a revised account distribution system, the appointment of independent external experts charged with developing innovative, novel programs impacting business and development opportunities for women financial advisors, and the appointment of an independent Diversity Monitor who will review account distribution data and other reports impacting fairness and equal opportunity in the brokerage house. Mr. Sprenger explained that "a key feature of the settlement is the creation of a new monitoring system to ensure that the Settlement is carried out as intended."

To view or download settlement documents, please go to the Pleadings page of this website.

The lawsuit focused on gender inequity in the distribution of accounts and other business opportunities, as well as other terms and conditions of employment. The lawsuit derived from the Women on Wall Street Project announced by the National Council of Women's Organizations and Mehri & Skalet in an effort to address historic gender inequity in the financial sector. The Amended Complaint alleges that Morgan Stanley engaged in systemic gender discrimination against women financial advisors with respect to compensation, account assignments, "partnership" participation, promotions, training and mentoring and other terms and conditions of employment, all in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. The Complaint requests injunctive, declaratory and monetary relief, and seeks class action status.

Eight women from six states served as named plaintiffs in an amended complaint originally filed with the Court on April 24, 2007. A revised Settlement Agreement was filed with the Court of July 11, 2007. Co-Lead Counsel Steven Sprenger praised the women "for courageously stepping forward to bring about change in one of America's most powerful institutions." He noted that plaintiffs' counsel interviewed over 200 class members in 35 states and "the momentum behind the investigation became a powerful engine for meaningful change."

Co-Lead Counsel Cyrus Mehri declared that this is "one of the ten largest gender discrimination settlements in U.S. history." He added that "most importantly, we anticipate that this settlement will have an enduring impact on the way America's financial institutions treat women financial advisors."

The settlement was the result of two years of intensive negotiations, including over 15 days of in-person mediation sessions. Mehri hailed the settlement as a "milestone in the struggle for gender equity in the brokerage industry. Today begins a new day at Morgan Stanley and could chart a new course for an industry plagued by gender inequity." He added that "Morgan Stanley deserves credit for working with us in a collaborative, proactive way over the two years of negotiations."

Settlement discussions between Plaintiffs' Class Counsel Sprenger & Lang PLLC, Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, and Moody & Warner, PA, and Morgan Stanley began in April 2005, after Plaintiffs' Class Counsel informed Morgan Stanley of their allegations that Morgan Stanley engaged in nationwide gender discrimination against its female Financial Advisors. To aid with the settlement negotiations, the parties in this action engaged the services of a prominent mediator, Hunter Hughes of Atlanta-based Rogers & Hardin, LLP.

Martha Burk, former Chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations and now Director of NCWO's Corporate Accountability Project, praised the Plaintiffs for their bravery in coming forward. "Only through the courage of women like these plaintiffs can women down the road be spared unequal treatment in the workplace. The reforms that will come out of this case will have repercussions far beyond a single case," she said.