Speakerphone Etiquette

I’ve posted on this before, and I don’t think repeating myself is necessarily a good thing.  But I was on a conference call yesterday, and I was reminded yet again why anyone who uses a speaker phone with a client is playing with fire.  Fortunately, I was not on my speaker phone, but another outside lawyer was, and he was rambling, making it impossible for the General Counsel to make his point.  When the lawyer stopped to take a breath, the GC said, “John (not his real name), do you mind if I say something?”  John, still not catching on, said “sure go ahead.”  Which elicited this withering comment: “As long as I’m paying for the call, don’t use your speaker phone again.”  Point taken.