Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has taken the highly unusual step of contributing nearly $20m (£10.9m) to help settle a claim involving long-term client Global Crossing – despite the fact the top New York firm was not named in the suit.

The $19.5m (£10.63m) contribution is part of a wider settlement, announced last Friday (19 March), that saw Global Crossing agree to pay $325m (£177.3m) to settle a class action suit brought against the telecoms giant for allegedly falsifying records.