Hammonds partners face seeing the firm's name pushed into second place if the merger with Squire Sanders & Dempsey goes ahead, with the brand being dropped entirely in countries where Hammonds does not have an office.

Legal Week has learned that the merged transatlantic firm would be known as Squire Sanders Hammonds in those jurisdictions where Hammonds has a presence, including the UK, Europe and Asia.

However, in the US and Eastern Europe, where Hammonds has no offering, the combined firm would be branded as Squire Sanders & Dempsey.

News of the firm name comes as partners at the two firms prepare to vote on the union. A document detailing the terms of the proposed merger is set to be distributed among both partnerships this week, with an electronic vote expected to take place at the beginning of next week (8 November).

The proposal document is expected to lay out specific details about the merged firm, including management and organisational structure.

In order for the merger to go ahead it must be approved by 75% of Hammonds' partnership and a two-thirds majority at Squire Sanders. If approved, Squire Sanders Hammonds will formally launch on 1 January 2011.

A spokesperson for the firms said: "Discussions between Squire Sanders & Dempsey and Hammonds are ongoing. However, we can confirm that in the event that the combination proceeds, the countries in which the legacy Hammonds offices are based will use the brand name Squire Sanders Hammonds, and the new global firm will be called Squire Sanders & Dempsey."

Hammonds and Squire Sanders publicly confirmed the merger talks in August. As previously reported by Legal Week, Squire Sanders chairman Jim Maiwurm looks set to become global chairman, while Hammonds managing partner Peter Crossley is likely to take on a senior European chair position.

The firms are expected to retain separate profit pools, in keeping with recent mergers between Lovells and Hogan & Hartson and Denton Wilde Sapte and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.

Squire Sanders has more than 800 lawyers across 32 offices throughout the US, Asia, Europe and South America, while Hammonds has around 496 lawyers across 10 offices around the world, including four in the UK.

Past US/UK mergers have seen other UK firms take second billing, with Richards Butler's name eventually dropped after its 2006 merger with Reed Smith.