When I first met Lars he was still a Partner with KL Gates Law firm founded by Bill Gates father but now he is a founding partner in a new law firm, Burks Johansson LLP. He invited me to a number of Swedish events and panel discussions.
Last year he attended our Annual Meeting, and he has become a key member in the Swedish Scandinavian Webbinar planning group. Even if he has relocated to Oregon, he still has his heart in San Francisco and active on the boards of Swedish American Chamber of Commerce and Silicon Vikinsgs, where he is Chair. This summer he took the initiative to help resolve the visa situation for our priest Joakim Schroeder. We asked him a few questions.
How did you first come in contact with the Church of Sweden at home and in SF?
When I was 16 and about to move to the south of France, my mom gave me a necklace with a small cross inside a drop and told me there was a seaman Church in Marseille should I ever need a place to go. So when I felt homesick or wanted a Swedish pastry, I went there to Marseille to visit the busy port with all its characters and the Swedish Church.
Later when I landed in the Bay Area in early 90s, I would visit the Church on Hyde street for a quiet moment, withdrawn from all the noise, and to connect with the homeland but also for a spiritual connection I had a hard time finding through church here. I remember drinking Gevalia, eat a waffle, read the dated newspapers, which was the only source of news from back home, and talk to someone in my native Swedish. The sermons felt more natural to me than sometimes the mass here in the US. There was an older lady back then who always seemed to have time for a coffee and a chat and I remember a Norwegian priest who would come out at times and check in. I remember always feeling good heading home from the Church, a little fortified perhaps.
How and when did you arrive in Bay Area and where did you study and first work?
I came here, traveling through in ’89 and met my wife to be. We ended up living in Sweden at first but then came here to live in ’91. At the time I was studying law and economics at Uppsala. I later studied at the l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Aix en Provence and law at UC Davis. My first job was at Wells Fargo as a personal banker. I tell my kids there is no better job for an immigrant when it comes to meeting people from all walks of life and learning American culture. But when I say that it doesn’t resonate and I think my kids feel their dad is a stranger.
Tell us more about how you got involved on the boards of SACC and Silicon Vikings?
For me, at first I think it was a way to stay connected with my Swedish roots. I thought the events were good and I would attend whenever I could. Being an attorney, it’s easy to be helpful at times, giving some quick, easy advice for free. It’s a gift that way. When I worked at big law firms, we often offered up our conference rooms as a place to meet or host an event. So it was a way to stay connected. But I also realized that the new Swedes coming here, or the younger generation, was pretty remarkable. They present well, are thoughtful, bring good technology solutions, and speak English well. Often I’ve been struck by how Nordic start-ups are better prepared for success than some of the local start-ups. But it’s not easy to make the jump here. So I spent a lot of time thinking about and trying to find ways to help make that transition easier and a little cheaper and little less risky for the Nordic start-ups. That is uniquely our focus at Silicon Vikings, where I’m the Chair, but I know Mats Andersson at SACC shares a similar view. So at different times I was asked to join the board, which has been a pleasure and honor.
Tell us about your amazing family and how you are coping with the challenges of COVID and fires?
We’re a cultural mix of sorts. My wife grew up in Vojvodina, the Hungarian part of Yugoslavia. She was young when the war broke out and left for Hungary, where she spent 20 years, the last 8 years in Budapest. She has a PhD in biology but is now an amazing glass artist. We have three strong-willed and independent kids, Annie is a junior in College. She has an amazing voice, loves dance, and clerked for my firm this summer, which was nice. Wolf, 12, lives for his soccer and school and fly fishing. Victoria, 10, is into aerial, which is a first in the family, animal whispering and downhill skiing.
In the fall of 2019, we moved to Ashland, Oregon, which is inland, just on the other side of the border, close to skiing, nature, and in a normal year, the well-known Shakespeare festival. We’re lucky as we have a place with some 20 acres of forest so when the Covid hit, and the schools closed, we were able to be outside in nature. At the time we had two rescued dogs, but soon it became all we could do: rescue and care for animals. At one point we had some 15 animals, some temporarily while being rehomed. We still have five dogs, two cats, three alpacas, a parrot, and chickens. I find the fires difficult, and more confining than Covid. We cancelled our two summer trips, including one long planned to Montana due to the fires. I worry about the impact of the smoke and what the future might be like. I’m concerned it will further exacerbate the differences in society between those with means and those without.
What are your passions and favorite pastime pleasures?
A simple dinner with a good glass of wine with my wife, fly fishing and skiing, and reading a good book while listening to Bach are things that make it all worth it. I spent 19 years, and many long days, in the office environment, and maybe that is why I enjoy the forest so much these days. Sometimes after felling a tree, I just sit there and take in the smells and sometimes it brings back childhood memories even.
How do you see the roles and challenges for our church without a shepherd and healer and how can we better serve the entire Swedish community?
I think this is tough. We’ve been lucky with our priests and for me personally, a Swedish mass can be very different from an American mass. Very different experience and connection. I think all of us immigrants, even at times when we feel at home here in the US and feel successful, we can feel a void or a hole, that a part is missing from back home. Something we left behind. I’ve seen this in the Hungarian American community as well, where everyone is doing well and is successful but when Sunday comes, they all meet in Church, eat Hungarian food and relax; like the swimmer coming out of the pool, they start breathing more normal again. So without a priest, there is this hole, missing piece in the community.
We’ve been through one of the most abnormal times in history, an isolation we were never prepared for, where we’ve had to adjust in so many ways. And the constant worry. I think the need for healing is tremendous and I don’t think we even know the toll of what we went through, and still are. We had visitors for almost two months straight this summer. So many dinners and special times sharing stories and catching up. In the beginning when we sat down, some dinners would last 5 or 6 hours instead of 2 or 3 hours. We were surprised by how much we had missed the human contact. It takes time for the priest to get to know the community and settle in, so it’s not only about flying someone in to give the mass I think. If the U.S .Embassy does not find a way to let Joakim travel here, then we may need to get members to write letters to the U.S. Embassy pleading our case. Maybe Pelosi can help. Maybe the Swedish Ambassador. I think we can’t be shy at this moment. We have a lot to offer the community and I think there is a lot of need and a lot of people we can help at this very moment. In some cases I think we need to find the people, some who perhaps disengaged during the covid. I think one way for us to reach more people is to do more events with other Nordic organizations and on topics of immediate concern. Either way, we need Joakim here more than ever.
To reach Lars:
Lars Johansson | Partner
Burks Johansson LLP
(415) 218-8815
lars@burksjohansson.com
burksjohansson.com