Is there a Java standard "both null or equal" static method?
With Java 7 you can now directly do a null safe equals:
Objects.equals(x, y)
(The Jakarta Commons library ObjectUtils.equals() has become obsolete with Java 7)
if by some chance you are have access to the Jakarta Commons library there is ObjectUtils.equals() and lots of other useful functions.
EDIT: misread the question initially
If you are using <1.7 but have Guava available: Objects.equal(x, y)