According to The Financial Times, the growing importance and visibility of intellectual property management in the media and business worlds has led many top law schools to offer a specialization or extra courses in intellectual property law. Though the job market for law school graduates has suffered recently, there is still strong demand for lawyers who understand patent law, according to the source.

Stanford offers a number of courses on intellectual property law in its Juris Doctor degree program. "A remarkable number of our students end up in IP in some form or other, whether in law firms, technology companies or start-ups," Mark Lemley, a professor at the law school, told The Financial Times.

"If you want to be in business today, you need to know about intellectual property law," Maureen O'Rourke, dean of Boston University School of Law, told the publication. "IP touches so many areas. Even if you're a transaction lawyer you'll run into IP law."

The current intellectual property landscape for lawyers includes infringement suits, of course, but also includes helping small and medium companies understand what their intellectual assets can do for them. From spotting what's important to register to helping firms exploit their intellectual property rights, lawyers with training in the area can be a valuable partner to businesses.