Bond Dickinson and Blackstone Chambers have been appointed as lead counsel on supermarket chain Sainsbury's judicial review challenging rival Tesco.

Sainsbury's is requesting a judicial review after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rejected its complaint about Tesco's Price Promise campaign.

Bond Dickinson dispute resolution partner and head of the firm's retail sector Gavin Matthews have instructed Blackstone Chambers' Tom de la Mare QC to launch the first stage of court proceedings.

Sainsbury's argue that Tesco's rival campaign misleads customers by failing to take into account differences between Tesco and Sainsbury's own-brand products when making comparisons, such as Fair Trade accreditation.

The letters of claim to the ASA were sent off yesterday with the process usually taking three months from this date to get permission to submit the case for review.

Bond Dickinson was appointed to Sainsbury's civil litigation sub-panel alongside Addleshaw Goddard in 2011. A total of 13 firms were appointed to the company's legal panel including Linklaters which was reappointed as the retailer's main legal adviser.

Tesco has not yet instructed counsel.