A woman who lost a high-profile gender discrimination lawsuit against a Silicon Valley venture capital firm is likely to pay a quarter of roughly $1 million in legal costs, said judge.

Almost three months after losing a discrimination case against investment firm Kleiner Perkins, Elen Pao will likely have to pay more than $275, 000 to cover her adversary's legal expenses.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn on Wednesday afternoon issued a tentative ruling that in which it ordered Pao to reimburse the venture capital firm nearly $275,967 for some of the costs it incurred while successfully defending itself against her lawsuit.

Pao, a former venture capitalist at the firm, accused Kleiner Perkins gender bias and retaliating against her for speaking out.

Although Pao lost her case but she was successful in sparking a wide-ranging discussion about gender bias and the lack of women at many Silicon Valley companies.

The judge in its ruling wrote that while Pao, who is currently interim CEO for the online forum Reddit, does have significant financial resources, she doesn't have enough money to cover the full $864,680 Kleiner Perkins had sought.

The firm had originally asked for $973,000, including the expert fees, before reducing the amount. The judge has scheduled a hearing Thursday to finalize the matter.

Following the tentative ruling, Kleiner spokeswoman Christina Lee issued a statement referencing her form's efforts to settle the lawsuit for $1 million before the trial.

Lee said the venture capital firm is pleased that the court has reached a fair decision. This tentative ruling recognizes that our settlement offer was reasonable and made in good faith.

Earlier this month, Pao filed paperwork to appeal the decision in her case. But she has said that she will drop it if Kleiner agrees to pay her $2.7 million.