Collaborative law has proved a huge success for divorcing couples and could soon be extended into the commercial arena, one of the UK’s most senior judges said last week.

Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, a justice of the Supreme Court, said the number of collaborative lawyers practising in the UK had risen dramatically, from just four when the process was introduced from America in 2003, to more than 1,400 in England and Wales today.

He said statistics from family lawyers’ group Resolution showed the number of cases its members have dealt grew by 87% in the two years to 2007, and the process boasts an 85% settlement rate.

‘On any view no further testament to the success of the system is required,’ Tonaghmore told a meeting of collaborative lawyers in London.

Tonaghmore said he could see the scope for extending the process beyond family law into some types of commercial disputes. But he warned that collaborative law’s success could act as a disincentive to improving the court process. ‘Put crudely, if court procedures are deficient, should the answer be the espousal of a system entirely outside the courts, or should the recognition of deficiencies act as a spur to bring about their modification?’

James Stewart, partner at London firm Manches, said: ‘The growth of collaborative law in London and beyond demonstrates that huge numbers of family lawyers, including those who have historically acted in high-profile, high-net-worth cases, are seeking an alternative to the adversarial approach.’

Sarah Lloyd, ADR director at Resolution, said the UK was likely to follow the US approach of bringing collaborative law to commercial disputes, but this would be a slower process than in family as it would be led by clients rather than lawyers.

Under collaborative law, which does not involve the presence of a mediator, parties meet each other face to face with their lawyers also present, instead of going to court. It is cheaper than litigation and offers clients absolute privacy.