Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today named Herbert Smith Freehills as the winner of its inaugural Asia Pacific Outside Counsel Diversity Award.
Designed to better understand and further encourage the efforts of Morgan Stanley’s regional legal service providers in promoting diversity and inclusion (D&I) internally and in the wider community, the Awards were conducted through an in-depth survey and interview process managed by Morgan Stanley’s Asia Pacific Legal & Compliance Division.
Eric Grossman, Chief Legal Officer, hosted today’s award ceremony in Hong Kong, and said: “We are proud to name Herbert Smith Freehills as the inaugural winner of our D&I award for Asia Pacific. With an agenda set from the very top of the firm, they have clear diversity targets, visible and active internal support and clearly defined priority areas for improvement. We had a difficult choice with so many impressive entries, particularly among the shortlisted candidates, but Herbert Smith Freehills most clearly demonstrated a Diversity and Inclusion strategy specifically designed for Asia.”
Clifford Chance, Linklaters and King & Wood Malleson were among the shortlist, and were commended for their entries.
The Awards were made up of a survey and interviews for the shortlisted firms. The Morgan Stanley Committee used a diversity and inclusion scorecard ranking each law firm based on:
o Clarity of mission
o Creative and targeted approach
o Senior buy-in
o Awareness of weaknesses
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 42 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.