Written by: Hannah Huston
Eight Iowa Law students have been selected by the American Bar Association’s (ABA) SEER Executive Order (EO) Tracking project for a prestigious opportunity: writing summaries of official EOs issued at the start of the new presidential administration. These memos, published as part of the ABA’s Administrative Tracker, provide essential guidance for legal practitioners navigating the regulatory changes introduced by the new administration.
Executive orders play a vital role in shaping national policy. They enable presidents to swiftly implement changes, bypassing the legislative process when urgent action is necessary.
“Although executive orders are often brief, they can be highly impactful,” explained Kegan Peters (25JD), author of the EO summary Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential. “They can also be difficult to understand because they reference preexisting and external guidance and rules without fully describing them.”
Iowa Law’s students earned this opportunity after connecting with ABA leadership at the fall ABA SEER
Conference in Seattle—an achievement that highlights their expertise, as no other law students nationwide were invited to participate. Thanks to the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative (HELI), Iowa Law students attend professional development conferences to build meaningful career networks.
Dean Todd Pettys highlights Iowa Law’s leadership in legal writing instruction as a key factor in students’ success.
“Iowa Law is a national pioneer in emphasizing the importance of rigorous instruction in legal writing starting in students’ first semester,” he said. “We are exceptionally proud of the faculty who give our students this essential training, and we are equally proud of the students who, year after year, put that training to great use in the larger world.”
Roni Miller (26JD), author of the EO summary Putting America First in International Environmental Agree-
ments, said this experience helped prepare her for her career.
“This summer, I was an environmental litigation intern for the Sierra Club,” she said. “Preparing for my internship through this experience tracking real-time changes in the environmental law space was critical. Opportunities like these make Iowa Law and its support for students unique.”
These remarkable achievements highlight the exceptional talent and dedication of Iowa Law students while underscoring the unparalleled opportunities the college provides.
“Being able to engage with the legal community in a new way by contributing, even briefly, to the conversation around administrative law has been extremely rewarding,” said Abigail Crabtree (26JD), a student editor on the project.
Below are the executive order summaries authored by Iowa Law students. Along with Crabtree, Nina Marquardt (26JD) served as a student editor on this project.
Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements
Student Author: Veronica Miller, University of Iowa College of Law 2026
Editors: Nina Marquardt, University of Iowa College of Law 2026; Abigail Crabtree, University of Iowa College of Law 2026
Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential
Student Author: Kegan Peters, University of Iowa College of Law 2025
Editors: Nina Marquardt, University of Iowa College of Law 2026; Abigail Crabtree, University of Iowa College of Law 2026
Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects
Student Author: Renée Jacoby, University of Iowa College of Law 2027
Editors: Nina Marquardt, University of Iowa College of Law 2026; Abigail Crabtree, University of Iowa College of Law 2026
Unleashing American Energy
Student Author: William Nagle, University of Iowa College of Law 2027
Editors: Nina Marquardt, University of Iowa College of Law 2026; Abigail Crabtree, University of Iowa College of Law 2026
Declaring a National Energy Emergency
Student Author: Erin Frith, University of Iowa College of Law 2025
Editors: Nina Marquardt, University of Iowa College of Law 2026; Abigail Crabtree, University of Iowa College of Law 2026
Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California
Student Author: Kristjan Nixon, University of Iowa College of Law 2026
Editors: Nina Marquardt, University of Iowa College of Law 2026; Abigail Crabtree, University of Iowa College of Law 2026