Paul Clement, the former U.S. solicitor general who is now a partner at high-profile appellate firm Bancroft PLLC in Washington, D.C., had his hourly rates slashed by a Northern District judge from $1,100 to $300 in an attorney fee award.

Judge Mae D'Agostino last month chopped by 77 percent a total fee request of $238,871 to $54,306, in a case where Clement was among several attorneys representing Alfred Osterweil, who challenged the denial of his application for a handgun permit.

In Osterweil v. Bartlett, 09-cv-825, D'Agostino said the prevailing hourly rates for the Northern District are the appropriate guide for reasonable hourly attorney fees.