In all of my dealings with corporate general counsels over the years, I’ve learned that the most effective and talented of the bunch share one common quality – the ability to anticipate legal and business issues lurking around the corner and thus limit exposure. These counselors have their fingers on the pulse. And as such, they offer their bosses in the boardroom and C-Suite what they often need most – a glimpse at what’s next.

Ten years ago, this was probably the most challenging part of the job. But today, there exists a tool by which GCs can play the role of swami when it matters most. It’s the blogosphere – and it’s as effective an early warning system as any that corporate legal departments have ever had at their disposal.

Whether posts are written by disgruntled consumers, industry watchdogs, or plaintiffs’ attorneys themselves, they often highlight issues that may evolve into the next litigation or corporate crisis long before they reach the mainstream media. For instance, in just the past month, there have been more than 1,000 posts on class action litigation. These posts offer GCs early insight into how others have approached cases similar to their own, the scope of an allegedly victimized population, or even plaintiffs’ strategy. But the GCs must be listening to take advantage of such valuable intelligence.

 Of course, monitoring the blogosphere is only half the battle. Even though “no comment” is still a primal instinct of many GCs out there, engaging the blogosphere is now absolutely essential if an emerging crisis is to be nipped in the bud. Today, GCs must loosen the reigns and free corporate communicators to join in the online conversation. Failing to do so only allows adversaries to control the story, influence potential judges and jurors, and attract mainstream attention from the 71 percent of journalists that now check blogs for story ideas on a regular basis.

 In the 21^st Century, litigation is won in the Court of Public Opinion as often as it is in the courtroom. But that doesn’t mean that corporate blogging should be strictly relegated to wartime. When a company engages its vital online audiences during periods of relative calm, it is better positioned and equipped to deal with these stakeholders when issues do arise. The company has built trust in the blogosphere, and is thus able to limit the exposure and liabilities created by the new electronic “assignment editors” of the Information Age.

Today, the blogosphere serves simultaneously as a GC’s crystal ball and bully pulpit. While the plaintiffs’ bar may be a full Internet generation ahead of the defense when it comes to Web savvy (having demonstrated a mastery of search engine optimization, pay-per-click campaigns, and blogging), all that GCs must do to catch up is realize that they have similar tools at their disposal and make a firm commitment to using them.