I can't claim credit for this, neither can I claim credit for finding it, but I can pass along this tip.
When doing a string comparison, save yourself the NULL check by flipping the left and right side of the comparison.
Instead of writing
if (x != null && x.equals("x")) {
//do something
}
you can write
if ("x".equals(x)) {
//do something
}
You will eliminate the need to check for null.