Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, and Sprenger & Lang, PLLC, Announce Final Court Approval of Gender Class Action Settlement with Morgan Stanley on Behalf of Female Financial Advisors and Financial Advisor Trainees

Business Wire, Oct 29, 2007

WASHINGTON -- In a ruling handed down late Friday, Judge Richard W. Roberts of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted final approval to a $70 million class action settlement of gender discrimination claims asserted against Morgan Stanley's Global Wealth Management Group. Plaintiffs are represented by Washington, DC area law firms Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, Sprenger & Lang, PLLC and the New Mexico firm of Moody and Warner. The settlement covers female Financial Advisors and Registered Financial Advisor Trainees employed by Morgan Stanley at any time from August 5, 2003 through June 30, 2007.

The settlement requires the Company to pay $46 million in cash. The parties anticipate that, in addition to the $46 million, the changes called for in the programmatic relief will increase the earnings of female financial advisors by at least $16 million over five years and the Company will spend $7.5 million over the next five years on diversity efforts and programs. The settlement also requires the Company to make changes to various policies affecting compensation and promotion into branch management. The settlement calls for the appointment of two independent outside expert Industrial Psychologists, Dr. Kathleen Lundquist and Dr. Irv Goldstein, to develop state-of-the-art programs to create enhanced business opportunities for female financial advisors. The Company must also appoint a Diversity Monitor to ensure compliance with the requirements of the settlement.

In response to the ruling, Steve Sprenger noted, "After a long journey, our named plaintiffs have succeeded in creating a substantial and powerful settlement."

Cyrus Mehri said, "This is a bell-weather settlement that not only will bring about genuine change at Morgan Stanley, but will also influence the entire industry."

A fact sheet on the settlement is available upon request to bwittschen@findjustice.com.