lodestar

noun3

1. •
   A star used as a navigation reference, particularly a pole star such as Polaris.

   • Tho when her ways he could no more descry, But to and fro at disaventure strayd; Like as a ship, whose lodestarre, suddenly Covered with cloudes, her pilot hath dismayd — 1590
2. •
   (figurative) A guiding tenet or principle.

   • We need a new lodestar, a new map of the world that once again includes a distant, uncharted continent—“Utopia.” — 2017
3. •
   A calculated amount to award as attorney's fees derived by multiplying the reasonable number of hours spent working on a case by the reasonable hourly billing rate.

   • Many, though not all, of the objections to lodestars seem to us to be overstated. — 1992