Karen Salmon and Alex Atkins opened Marlborough Law in January 2018 with one quiet structural difference from every other firm in town: they took regulation from the Bar Standards Board rather than the SRA, which is what lets us offer a free first call, no client money held upfront, and a single monthly invoice rather than one large bill at the end of a matter. A six-person practice on Charnham Lane, Hungerford, serving West Berkshire and Wiltshire.
"A sensible and pragmatic approach, and never fails to put the interest of the client first." Barrister description · on Karen Salmon
Marlborough Law was the first solicitor-led practice in the UK to be regulated by the Bar Standards Board, not the Solicitors Regulation Authority, without a barrister on the books. That choice is the engine behind the commercial structure we offer clients:
The work the firm exists for. Each area has a named lead, the fee is agreed in writing before anything starts, and the first conversation is free.
Karen Salmon's principal specialism. Divorce, child arrangements, separation agreements, financial remedy, cohabitation agreements, and in-house mediation through Daniel Foster Davis. Resolution member: the parenting plan and consent order come first and court is the backstop. The free first consultation gives a real Form E or Children Act 1989 conversation before anything goes on the clock.
Often the first conversation a Hungerford or Marlborough family has with us, and often the one that quietly leads to the others. Single wills, mirror wills, codicils, lasting powers of attorney, trust drafting, and full grant-and-administration probate. Fees agreed in writing at the first meeting and billed monthly rather than at the end, so a probate matter does not arrive as a single bill on a difficult month.
Residential conveyancing, landlord and tenant, residential leases, remortgaging, equity release, transfer of equity, and property disputes. The work is run from Hungerford, the client portal is online, and a Marlborough buyer who would rather not drive over for a meeting books the call window that suits the workday. Free initial chat before anything goes on the clock.
Alex Atkins' principal area. Company formation, director duties and disputes, shareholder agreements, contracts and terms and conditions, buying and selling businesses, share trusts, and commercial property (leases, lease extensions, corporate conveyancing). The boutique works for the family-owned company that needs proper advice without the City fee structure.
The faces in this grid are the faces you will meet. The firm is owner-managed by Karen and Michael Salmon and co-founder Alex Atkins, with a four-person legal team supporting.
Founded the firm in 2018 with Alex Atkins. Chairman of Hungerford Chamber of Commerce. Resolution member.
Grew up in Marlborough. Former CPS caseworker. Construction, company, director disputes, wills and probate.
Civil Mediation registered. Around fourteen years in the field. The mediation-first voice on family matters.
Electronics engineer by training. Twenty-plus years running businesses in Marlborough, Swindon and Basingstoke as CEO and Chairman.
Plymouth University 2023. Joined the firm after a year travelling.
Cardiff University law student on Professional Placement Year with the firm.
Karen Salmon moved from Scotland to Hungerford aged 21 and has been local for thirty years. She qualified as a solicitor in family and corporate law, ran her husband Michael's multi-million-pound electronics business, and started taking on her own family-law work alongside it. Alex Atkins grew up in Marlborough, went to St John's School, worked at the Crown Prosecution Service, then moved into civil practice. In January 2018 they opened Marlborough Law on the ground floor of Elcot Park, off Elcot Lane, Marlborough, with a deliberately uncommon structure.
The structural choice was Bar Standards Board regulation rather than SRA regulation, the first solicitor-led practice in the UK to do this without a barrister on the books. The BSB handbook is shorter and proportionate to a boutique firm, which let Karen and Alex offer a free first call, no client money held upfront, and monthly invoicing rather than one bill at the end of a matter. The legal trade press called it "much more practical and proportionate" at the time. Eight years on, the firm sits in a larger Hungerford office at Merlin House on Charnham Lane, with six people and a Marlborough premises currently paused while a suitable replacement is sought.
"I'm keen to give something back to the community I grew up in." Alex Atkins · Marlborough News, January 2018
Marlborough Law Limited incorporated at Companies House on 11 May 2017. Karen Salmon and Alex Atkins are first directors.
The firm opens for trading from the ground floor of Elcot Park, off Elcot Lane, Marlborough. First solicitor-led practice in the UK to be regulated by the Bar Standards Board, not the SRA, without a barrister on the books.
Hungerford office opens at Suite A, The Courtyard, 24 High Street, RG17 0NF. The two-town footprint begins.
Karen becomes a trustee of Bridge for Young People in Newbury. Mediation offering brought in-house as Daniel Foster Davis joins.
Sophie Lawrence joins as Trainee Solicitor.
Hungerford head office relocates to the larger Merlin House on Charnham Lane: free client parking, larger meeting rooms, video-consult-ready.
Six people, one Hungerford office at Merlin House, serving West Berkshire and Wiltshire. Marlborough premises paused while a suitable replacement is sought.
Most of what walks through the door is family work. Divorce, child arrangements, financial remedy under the Matrimonial Causes Act and Children Act, separation agreements, cohabitation agreements, and the wills, LPAs, and declarations of trust that quietly sit alongside them. Karen leads the family practice and is a Resolution member, which means the starting position is a parenting plan and a consent order, and court is the backstop rather than the opening move.
Daniel Foster Davis runs the in-house mediation service, Civil Mediation Council registered, with around fourteen years in the field. Where mediation is the right answer it is run from the same firm so the conversation does not start again from scratch. The free first call covers the mediation question as part of the same hour.
Tell us the broad shape of the matter and a couple of times that suit. Karen, Alex or one of the team will call you back within one working day, by phone or by video, whichever suits you. The first call is free and confidential.
If your situation is sensitive, leave only the time slots and we will reply by phone with no detail in writing until you choose otherwise.
Prefer to talk now? 01488 508008
Thank you. The booking request has reached the office. We will be in touch within one working day on the contact you gave us.
The office is on Charnham Lane on the north edge of Hungerford, with free on-site parking for clients and larger meeting rooms than the old High Street premises. Easy walk from Hungerford railway station and ten minutes by car from the centre of Marlborough on the A4.
Marlborough clients: the Elcot Park office is paused for now. In the meantime we run video consultations on Teams or Zoom for clients who would rather not drive, and home visits where the matter warrants.
When Karen and Alex set the firm up in January 2018 they chose Bar Standards Board regulation rather than SRA regulation deliberately. The BSB handbook is shorter, the regime is proportionate to a boutique practice, and the framework supported the commercial structure they wanted to offer clients: no client money held upfront, monthly invoicing rather than billing at the end of a matter, and a free initial consultation. Marlborough Law was the first solicitor-led practice in the UK to take this route without a barrister on the books. For a client it means a Form E or a Children Act 1989 conversation can happen and be costed before anything goes on the clock, and the monthly bill is predictable rather than a single invoice landing at the end.
It is genuinely free. Call the office on 01488 508008 or send a short note through the form. We will book a thirty-minute call or, where the matter and timing suit, an in-person meeting at Merlin House. The point of the call is to understand the matter, name the likely costs, and tell you whether we are the right firm for the work. If we are, scope and fees are then agreed in writing before anything is started. Nothing said in the first call leaves the firm.
Less than most cohabiting couples realise. There is no automatic financial settlement on separation for unmarried couples in England and Wales, no automatic inheritance if one partner dies without a will, and disputes are run under property law rather than family law, which is slower and harder. The firm's standard cohabiting-couple package is a cohabitation agreement, a declaration of trust on any property held in unequal shares, and mirror wills with LPAs. It is often the single most cost-effective hour a couple spends with a solicitor in their lifetime.
On the right facts, yes to all three. Mediation costs less because the parties do not each pay for two solicitors to argue at court for a day, it is faster because the court list does not control the timetable, and an agreement reached together holds longer than one imposed. It is not the right answer where there is domestic abuse, where one party will not engage in good faith, or where the safeguarding picture needs a court order. Daniel Foster Davis is Civil Mediation registered and runs the in-house service. The first conversation is part of the free initial consultation.
Yes. Karen and Alex founded the firm with a Marlborough office at Elcot Park in 2018 and that premises is paused for now while we look for a suitable replacement. In the meantime the Hungerford head office at Merlin House on Charnham Lane is ten minutes drive from the centre of Marlborough on the A4, has free on-site parking, and we run video consultations on Teams or Zoom for clients who would rather not drive at all. Home visits are arranged where the matter warrants. The brand stays Marlborough because that is the firm's name. The honest geography today is Hungerford-led.