Britney Spears to pay Kevin Federline's lawyer $375,000

Britney Spears has been ordered to pay $375,000 of Kevin Federline's legal bills in their ongoing child custody case.

The pop star's lawyer, Stacy Phillips, complained last week that Spears had been overcharged by Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, and asked that her ex contribute to his own legal bills.

Phillips brought up how Federline recently tipped a waitress $2,000 on a $365 dining tab - and how Kaplan had recently raised his hourly rate.

But Los Angeles Court Commissioner Scott Gordon called it "reasonable" to make Britney pay so much because "the actions of [Spears] caused the great majority of litigation."

The court also favoured Federline for having "taken the responsibility for the care and custody of the children during this period as a result of the conduct of the petitioner [Britney]".

Federline had previously declared in court papers made public last year that he had no steady income, while Spears takes in more than $700,000 a month.