The protocol is a voluntary agreement that lets advisors take customer contact information when they move from one protocol signatory to another.
Although Morgan Stanley reps will lose their ability to leave under the protocol, they can still go to another firm and in some cases may not be prohibited from using client information, Hamburger said.
Wirehouse employment contracts like Morgan’s typically have one-year non-solicitation agreements, Ash said, and to what extent those restrictions on contacting clients are enforceable is a matter of state law.
“What state law applies is a bit of patchwork,” Ash said. Some states, California in particular, have more favorable laws for employees, she said. But overall, “I think you will continue to see [that] clients have a right of choice” to follow their advisors.
A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley did not have an immediate comment Wednesday. A spokesman for Bressler Amery was not immediately available.