Faith Without Frontiers

Gordon Showell-Rogers interviews Ville, a Finnish Christian attorney with a 20-year solo practice focused on immigration alongside criminal and family law, meeting him at a European gathering on forced displacement. Ville explains how volunteering with Iraqi refugees in the early 1990s led him to study law and build a largely word-of-mouth immigrant clientele, including many Hindus and Muslims, and he describes helping register a Hindu temple and the mutual respect this can foster. He recounts challenges in asylum cases involving converts to Christianity, outlining how he prepares clients and witnesses and noting the complexity of assessing risk in countries like Iran and Iraq; he estimates about 20% of his convert clients are ultimately sent back. Ville shares memorable criminal cases, including a bungled bank robbery and defending a Rwandan genocide suspect, discusses how he processes disturbing testimony, and reflects on threats and domestic violence, including harassment from ex-husbands, sometimes from Christian backgrounds.

00:54 Reconnecting in Europe
01:40 Life as an Attorney
02:31 Refugee Roots and Calling
03:28 Law School in Lapland
05:01 Starting a Solo Practice
06:09 Immigration Law Perks
07:22 Faith and Interfaith Respect
09:41 Word of Mouth Clients
11:05 Courtroom Stories and Crime
14:19 Proving Genuine Conversion
17:02 Culture and Christian Questions
17:46 Church Witness Checks
18:04 Iran Risk Reality
19:57 Iraq Family Persecution
21:02 Who Gets Sent Back
22:46 Wild Criminal Clients
23:26 Rwanda Genocide Case
25:45 Coping With Darkness
29:01 Defending The Unliked
31:08 Rapture House Will
32:30 Church Abuse Warnings
35:18 Closing Reflections