The law firm consolidation trend continued this week, with Womble Carlyle absorbing a three-lawyer South Carolina shop and Baker Donelson executing its third merger in less than four months by picking up a seven-lawyer Houston firm. And the urge to merge is not exclusive to the U.S. See more information on the Baker Donelson merger, from the Tex Parte Blog.

Which law firms have the strongest brands in the United States, the world’s largest legal market? According to a study released this week by brand research company Acritas, Skadden leads the big-firm pack, followed by Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis, Sidley Austin, and Wachtell.

Addressing New York State Bar Association members this week, the president of the ABA praised the bar’s recent report detailing the impact of $170 million in cuts in the 2011-12 court budget.

After rejecting a plea deal that would have kept him behind bars for nearly four years, a man charged in an undercover online sex crime sting in Washington was found not guilty this week and ordered released from custody. The case marks a rare win for the criminal defense bar as the number of federal investigations grows in response to a reported proliferation of child pornography and an increase in online enticement of minors.

In a decision this week that could be a harbinger of things to come, a Dutch court has approved a collective securities settlement brought by shareholders of the Swiss reinsurance company Converium Holding AG, providing a forum for non-Dutch shareholders of a non-Dutch company.