Johanna Norrback-Ilvessalo
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Johanna is one of Finland’s leading family lawyers with more than twenty years of experience. After having worked more than ten years at some of Finland’s leading law firms with taxation matters, company law and private clients, she founded Familja Attorneys Ltd in 2014 to focus primarily on international family law.
Her practice focuses on cross border family matters including all kinds of matters related to children including child abduction, divorce and adjoining matters.
Privately, Johanna is a mother of three who sings whenever given the opportunity, reads and enjoys the outdoors.
Relevant experiences and positions
Johanna is a member of the Finnish Bar Association and a licensed mediator.
She has a Masters of Law degree from both Sweden and Finland. However, she works as an attorney at law from Finland.
She has also completed studies in international child law at the University of Manchester, UK.
Some personal questions
What is your advice to parents who are thinking about relocating with a child?
Parents who are thinking/planning to relocate should be aware of the problems that may arise if the other parent is not on board with such a relocation. To keep an open dialogue with the other parent is key and to be able to compromise.
What is your advice to parents about international parenting plans?
Whenever there is an international element involved it is crucial to find a lawyer who is very good at communicating and negotiating. I try to avoid going to court at any cost and instead put a lot of time and effort in drafting long term agreements that really do work in the future.
What would you like to say to judges who are handling child relocation cases?
I would like judges in relocation cases to challenge the status quo thinking. It is my view as a lawyer that a parent who is the primary caretaker has an unfair advantage, especially if the child has been placed with one parent on the basis of an interim order following a divorce.
When did you first handle a child abduction case?
In 2016
What makes a child abduction case different from other cases?
A child abduction case is very consuming in every meaning of the word. The timeframe makes it almost impossible to deal with other matters at the same time. In addition to the workload the impact of the outcome is enormous and instant for the parties and as a lawyer it is impossible not to become involved at some level.