The switch to London, recommended after a McKinsey review, is likely to be made between now and the end of the year, despite Judge's vehement opposition both to it and to plans by Lowe's Interpublic parent to slim down the network and refocus it.
Industry sources say that a change of leadership at Lowe is now inevitable, although no concerted effort to find a successor to Judge has yet begun.
The choice of leader is likely to be heavily influenced by Matthew Bull, the chief executive of the Lowe agency in London, and the network's worldwide chief marketing officer, Mark Goldstein, who joined from Fallon in May.
Both are regarded as strong figures with important roles to play as Lowe reconfigures itself following the loss of a series of multimillion-pound global accounts, including HSBC and Braun.
Moving Lowe's HQ back to the UK would reflect the fact that most of the network's remaining international business is based either in the UK or mainland Europe.
London is also the base of Lowe's most senior management. This includes: Adrian Holmes, the chairman and worldwide chief creative officer of the network; Ian Creasey, the regional president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Terry Rosenquist, who runs Lowe's global Unilever business.
Interpublic chiefs are understood to have ruled out a merger between Lowe and Draft, its below-the-line IPG sister, ending speculation that Howard Draft, its founder, might head the operation.
Instead, a new-look Lowe is likely to take its cue from the leaner Fallon network. This may involve selling some non-core offices not wholly owned by the network back to their respective managements.
However, no final decisions are expected to be made until a new network chief is in place. Sources say the appointment is unlikely to be made from within Lowe but could be a senior manager from another IPG operation, which include McCann Erickson and FCB. IPG was unavailable for comment.
Meanwhile, Lowe London has earmarked the senior art director Ed Morris as the replacement for Damon Collins. His departure as the creative director was confirmed this week by the agency, which is also axing about 50 jobs.
Morris becomes a creative group head responsible for Unilever, Interbrew, Electrolux, Nestle and Coca-Cola, with a view to him taking charge of the creative department within three months.
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