Mehri & Skalet represented a class of female Financial Advisors and Registered Advisor Trainees who were employed by Morgan Stanley in their Global Wealth Management Group. The focus of the lawsuit was gender inequality in the business practices of Morgan Stanley, which was evident in the inequitable distribution of accounts and other opportunities for female employees.
The named plaintiffs, eight women from five states, on behalf of themselves and a class of about 2,700 fellow female Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors, filed an amended complaint alleging discrimination on April 24, 2007. These women, heralded by co-lead counsel Steven Sprenger “for courageously stepping forward to bring about change in one of America’s most powerful institutions”, took a critical step in the fight for improved working conditions for women across the financial services sector.
Settlement
On October 26, 2007, Judge Richard Roberts, United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, approved a settlement with Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated f/k/a Morgan Stanley DW Inc., on behalf of approximately 2,700 female Financial Advisors and Registered Financial Advisor Trainees employed at Morgan Stanley at any time since August 5, 2003.
The Court appointed Special Master filed his Report and Recommendation with the District Court on June 12, 2008 regarding the method of allocating $46 million in settlement funds and distributing them to eligible claimants.