Markus Spazzapan has been practising law for almost 30 years.

He first joined Ward Keller in 1989, where he practised until 1994 before taking time off to sail, develop property and run his own practice.

Markus returned to Ward Keller in 2005. He acts as both a solicitor and counsel, practicing in the areas of work and personal injury law, business and contract disputes and work health and safety law.

Markus has a long-established client base, but he also helps a large number of one-off clients. “They’re often scared because the system’s gobbling them up,” he said. “What I can do is give them comfort and extract maximum benefit for them”.

The firm’s junior lawyers benefit from Markus’s experience through his role as a mentor. “The younger lawyers can sometimes get a bit overwhelmed, and my door’s always open for them,” he said. “If anyone needs anything, I’ll drop whatever I’m doing to help them deal with it.”

Outside work, Markus loves sailing, fishing, cooking and travel. “I love anything Japanese or Italian, and especially being there!” said Markus, who travels to Europe and Japan with his wife regularly. “Darwin has 150,000 people; Tokyo has 34 million. Walking through that city is just a fantastic experience.”