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.

Following through on a September ruling vacating a preliminary injunction issued by Southern District of New York Judge Lewis Kaplan, the 2nd Circuit has ruled that New York law and the principles of international comity denied Kaplan the authority to block throughout the world the enforcement of a $17.2 billion environmental judgment secured against Chevron in Ecuador.Related story: For more on the case, see Where the 2nd Circuit Leaves Chevron

Amid public scrutiny of labor abuses and employee suicides at Foxconn, the Taiwan-based company that assembles an estimated 40 percent of the world’s electronics, including the iPhone, Apple has announced two new initiatives aimed at pressuring Foxconn and other global suppliers to improve working conditions.

A federal judge said Friday he is not yet willing to block collection of an $18 billion court judgment against Chevron for environmental damage in an Ecuadorean rain forest despite claims by Chevron that it faces imminent irreparable harm to its holdings around the world if U.S. courts do not intervene.

In the world of the Internet, a lawyer’s reputation can change in an instant. For some attorneys, controlling their online reputations is a simple matter of managing what gets out. Others face defamatory attacks, often by ex-clients or ex-spouses