Robert N. Downer, Iowa City, is a member of the Iowa City law firm of Meardon, Sueppel & Downer P.L.C., with which he has been associated since receiving a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and being admitted to the Iowa Bar, both in 1963. Mr. Downer also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Iowa, awarded in 1961, and served as Student Body President in 1960-61.

Mr. Downer’s practice of law has concentrated in the fields of corporate law and trusts and estates. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in these fields since 1995. He has also been an active member of the Johnson County, Iowa State and American Bar Associations, having served as President of both the Johnson County and Iowa State Bar Associations. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, for which he served as Iowa State Chair for five years, a Life Fellow of both the Iowa State and American Bar Foundations and a member of the Iowa Legal Aid Hall of Fame. He has been the recipient of the Excellence in Service Award of Legal Services Corporation of Iowa and the Award of Merit of the Iowa State Bar Association.

Additionally, Mr. Downer has been involved in a wide variety of civic organizations, including the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Iowa City, both of which he has served as President. He has also been Chair of the Iowa City Area Development Group, President of the Board of Trustees of the Iowa City Public Library, and served as a Director and Secretary of both Christian Retirement Services, Inc. and the Community Foundation of Johnson County. Currently he is a Director of the Iowa Law School Foundation and a Trustee of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association and a former Trustee of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.

Regent Downer was appointed in 2003 and reappointed in 2009.  His term on the Board expires April 30, 2015.