James Pirrie, a senior partner at Family Law in Partnership, says: 'People are thinking, 'If Heather Mills can represent herself in court and take on that Mr Mostyn, whom everyone says is the best lawyer in the country, then I can give Mr Bogstandard from down the High Street a run for his money.

'The Mills-McCartney experience has also encouraged couples to go for DIY divorces because of the ferocity of their fight,' he added. 'Divorces like Mills-McCartney have meant non-celebrities now see divorce as this terrifying, gladiatorial struggle between lawyers who are effectively mad vultures preying on the carcass of the marriage.'

Miss Mills, who was married to Sir Paul for less than four years, has finally been awarded £24.3 million in her well-publicised divorce battle today. She was initially offered £15.8 million by Sir Paul McCartney, but Heather eventually increased the amount by £8.5 million. When asked if it had been a mistake to represent herself, she replied: 'Not at all. Lawyers couldn't get anywhere near this figure.'

Mills also enforced the idea that she represented herself because her legal fees were too high. She insisted that she had parted from her own lawyers Mishcon de Reya because the firm wanted to charge her an extra £600,000 to do the trial, 'which could easily go to charity'.

The Mills/McCartney divorce battle ended up being one of the most costly and acrimonious battles in British history. Mills parted company with her lawyer Anthony Julius, who represented Princess Diana, after she spoke to the media, and she decided to fight her case without any legal representation. She acted as a litigant in person against one of the most expensive divorce teams in the country.

Today she urged others to follow her example and represent themselves. She mentioned 'the power of one' and insisted that 'the Law Courts do not want me to say this'.

There are no exact numbers of those who represent themselves in divorce courts, but James Pirrie believes that 'more than 70 per cent of all contested divorces in Britain will soon be self-represented.'

Recent figures suggest that more than 300,000 people will divorce this year, costing £28,000 per couple.

Paula Jones, of Gravesend, said ‘Having used a DIY divorce kit easily, it makes you wonder what all the money we spend on lawyers goes on.’


Costly celebrity divorces

1. Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving: The couple divorced after four years of marriage. Irving successfully contested their prenuptial agreement because she did not have legal representation and she received $100 million, roughly half of Spielberg's fortune at the time. He is now worth $3 billion.
   
   
2. Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison: The settlement awarded to Mathison was estimated at $85 million. She also negotiated a piece of Ford's future earnings from films he made while they were married, including DVD sales of The Fugitive and the Indiana Jones trilogy. They were married for 21 years.
   
   
3. Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva: After 16 years of marriage Silva was awarded $80 million because she was married to him during his peak earning years.
   
   
4. James Cameron and Linda Hamilton: Cameron received an estimated $100 million from Paramount for Titanic and Hamilton received half of that in the divorce settlement. They have one daughter together.
   
   
5. Michael and Diandra Douglas: Diandra was awarded $45 million, as well as homes in Beverly Hills and Majorca. They were married for 22 years.
   
   
6. Lionel and Diane Richie: After eight years of marriage Diane filed for divorce in 2004. As part of her petition she claimed a monthly clothing allowance of $15,000 and a plastic surgery budget of $20,000 a year. She received an estimated settlement of $20 million.
   
   
7. Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall: Despite being together for 22 years and having two children together, Jerry only obtained a fraction of his $325 million fortune when she received between $15 and $25 million.

Further information
Save legal fees by using Lawpack's Separation & Divorce Kit
Do I need a solicitor for my divorce?
What are the grounds for divorce?
How to protect yourself financially on divorce