Herbert Smith could go ahead with its proposed tie-up with Australia's Freehills as early as 1 July this year.

Confirmation of the timescale of the possible union, which is dependent on a vote by partners at both firms, comes after Legal Week reported last month that the pair were holding discussions about a tie-up.

One Herbert Smith partner told Legal Week: "There have been communications about what the thinking behind [the tie-up] is and the firm has held a number of meetings for partners to come and discuss it.

"There is now a wider committee looking at it, but people are still keeping their cards close to their chest until something concrete emerges."

All options are thought to be still under consideration, including a full merger, a Swiss Verein-style deal or a joint venture.

Partners at Herbert Smith told Legal Week that no date has been set for a vote at either firm; however, a committee has been put together to work on the initiative at Herbert Smith. To date Australia-qualified London corporate partner Greg Mulley had been leading the discussions.

Freehills is believed to have held a vote at the close of 2011 canvassing partners on whether the firm should pursue discussions with Herbert Smith.

If the two firms were to merge it would create a combined firm with revenues of around £770m, placing it around 14th in the Am Law Global 100 rankings of the largest law firms by revenue.

The tie-up would gift Herbert Smith new bases in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, as well as two associated offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Freehills also has a base in Singapore and three further associated offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Jakarta where Herbert Smith already has offices or associations.

A raft of other UK law firms, including Norton Rose, Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and DLA Piper, have all launched offices in Australia over the last two years, with many targeting an Australian presence to help drive their wider Asia-Pacific strategies.

Meanwhile, Australian giant Mallesons Stephen Jaques also entered into a much-touted tie-up in recent months with China's King & Wood, with the firms set to operate under a three-partnership Swiss verein structure from 1 March this year.