NEWS ITEM

Race Discrimination Class Action Settlement with Morgan Stanley Becomes Final

Class to receive monetary and injunctive relief

July 9, 2010 -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order today dismissing all appeals of Judge Henderson’s order granting final approval to the class settlement and Consent Decree in the race discrimination class action against Morgan Stanley involving African American and Latino Financial Advisors (“FAs”) and FA Trainees.

The Consent Decree provides comprehensive injunctive relief and substantial class monetary relief. The injunctive relief includes recruiting efforts to increase the hiring of African American and Latino FAs and FA Trainees, a job analysis of the Financial Advisor job, changes to the formula by which accounts of departing brokers are distributed to de-emphasize historical factors and eliminate disparate impact, interviews with departing brokers of color to ascertain the reasons for their departures, an analysis by industrial organizational psychologists of how to diversify teams of FAs, assistance to FA Trainees with the series VII license exam, financial incentives to Branch Mangers to promote diversity (with monitoring and reporting requirements) and oversight by former EEOC Commissioner Fred Alvarez as Diversity monitor. In addition, class members who submitted claims will share a portion of the settlement fund of $17.9 million. Persons who submitted claims will receive average awards of approximately $38,000.

Altshuler Berzon LLP serves Class Counsel for the class of African American FAs and FA Trainees, together with co-counsel at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP in San Francisco, and Outten & Golden, LLP in New York.

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