By Chris Caesar
law briefs
Suffolk Law 2L Johnny Gregorek has an unusual reason for taking a year off from his legal education. “The Olympic year requires just a little more traveling and that sort of thing,” he says. “So I didn’t want to shortchange it.”
Gregorek, a native of Seekonk, Massachusetts, is making his third attempt to compete in the Summer Olympics, running the 1500-meters event. He earned a silver medal in that event at the Pan American Games in 2019, running it in 3:40.42.
In the years since his last attempt to qualify, he has made good use of his time, pursuing a longstanding passion to attend law school. He came to Suffolk Law for Boston’s storied running community and for the Law School’s evening program, which allows students to work—or in his case, run and do strength training—during the day.
“Suffolk just made the most sense,” he says. “The past two years have been incredible to be able to train and be a law student.” Both, he says, take endurance and discipline.
“When it comes to not getting tired out by the reading and what’s asked of you on a daily basis, training is definitely something that helps me with law school,” he says. Running and the law, he adds, both require “having to be sharp at the right moment.”
Andre Baynes, JD ’07, would agree.
“Running is helpful not only for your physical health but definitely, as an attorney, for your mental health,” he says. “It gives me balance.”
While serving as Vice President, Associate General Counsel at Fidelity Investments, Baynes is preparing for the 200-meter and 400-meter dash events at the 2024 World Masters Athletics Championships in Sweden. Until then, the five-time USATF Masters National Champion celebrates his most significant achievement yet: a bronze medal at the Penn Relays in 2017 (among the 80-plus medals in his collection).
“It’s amazing when you have an epiphany while you are working out, or right after you’re done,” Baynes says. “You couldn’t figure out an answer to a client’s question. You were struggling with a legal question. Then you go to work out and come back, and all of a sudden you have the answer.”
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Photographs clockwise from top: Courtesy of Johnny Gregory, courtesy of Andrew Baynes
winter 2024
Suffolk Law 2L Johnny Gregorek, top, and Andre Baynes, JD ’07, above and far left, have found balance in their law careers through competitive running.
Suffolk Law 2L Johnny Gregorek has an unusual reason for taking a year off from his legal education. “The Olympic year requires just a little more traveling and that sort of thing,” he says. “So I didn’t want to shortchange it.”
Gregorek, a native of Seekonk, Massachusetts, is making his third attempt to compete in the Summer Olympics, running the 1500-meters event. He earned a silver medal in that event at the Pan American Games in 2019, running it in 3:40.42.
In the years since his last attempt to qualify, he has made good use of his time, pursuing a longstanding passion to attend law school. He came to Suffolk Law for Boston’s storied running community and for the Law School’s evening program, which allows students to work—or in his case, run and do strength training—during the day.
“Suffolk just made the most sense,” he says. “The past two years have been incredible to be able to train and be a law student.” Both, he says, take endurance and discipline.
“When it comes to not getting tired out by the reading and what’s asked of you on a daily basis, training is definitely something that helps me with law school,” he says. Running and the law, he adds, both require “having to be sharp at the right moment.”
Andre Baynes, JD ’07, would agree.
“Running is helpful not only for your physical health but definitely, as an attorney, for your mental health,” he says. “It gives me balance.”
While serving as Vice President, Associate General Counsel at Fidelity Investments, Baynes is preparing for the 200-meter and 400-meter dash events at the 2024 World Masters Athletics Championships in Sweden. Until then, the five-time USATF Masters National Champion celebrates his most significant achievement yet: a bronze medal at the Penn Relays in 2017 (among the 80-plus medals in his collection).
“It’s amazing when you have an epiphany while you are working out, or right after you’re done,” Baynes says. “You couldn’t figure out an answer to a client’s question. You were struggling with a legal question. Then you go to work out and come back, and all of a sudden you have the answer.”