Morgan Stanley Sex Discrimination

On October 11, 2007, the final approval hearing was held in front of Judge Richard W. Roberts of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia who indicted he would approve the settlement and enter Administrative Order No. 2 in the near future.  We expect Judge Roberts to issue his formal order soon.

On July 17, 2007, the law firms of Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, Sprenger & Lang, PLLC, and Moody & Warner, PA announced a class settlement with Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated f/k/a/ Morgan Stanely DW, Inc., on behalf of approximately 2,700 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 is expected to issue final approval of the settlement on October 11, 2007.

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

This lawsuit focuses on gender inequity in the distribution of accounts and other business opportunities, as well as other terms and conditions of employment.  The lawsuit derives 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. 

Eight women from five 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 on 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 parties entered into a five year Settlement Agreement that is subject to Court approval. The settlement is valued at over $70 million, starting with a lump sum 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 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.” 

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.” 

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.