César F. Rosado Marzán is the Edward Carmody Professor of Law in the College of Law and is an internationally recognized socio-legal scholar and award-winning author.

Tell us about your hometown; how did it shape you?

I was born and raised in the vibrant heart of San Juan, Puerto Rico. This bustling metropolis instilled in me a deep appreciation for the diverse offerings of urban life. At the same time, I knew all my neighbors. I played in the street with friends that to this day I hang out with when I return home. I had a large extended family. Family, friends, community, and food were ingrained in my life. The colonial center, established by the Spanish crown over 500 years ago, stands as a testament to our enduring history, older than any other European settlement in the United States. But because we have been a US territory since 1898, we are also bicultural and, in some sense, "American." This rich heritage fostered a deep pride in my cultural roots and the unique Latin character of my people. Nestled in paradise, San Juan boasts some of the world's most breathtaking beaches. This nurtured my love for natural beauty. The city's class divides, and vibrant labor and social movements taught me the power of collective action and the pivotal role ordinary people can play in shaping history. It showed me that social change is within our reach, a tangible goal for those with the courage to seize it. San Juan is more than just my hometown. It's where passion for my people, heritage, and my unwavering belief in the power of community and resilience comes from.

Tell us about your hobbies/outside interests.

I work a lot, so I do not do much outside work, except spend time with my family, which I am lucky to have. I have a wife, 2 teenage sons, two dogs, and a cat. My outside interests involve doing things with them. I plan trips with them and try to maximize that time before the kids grow up and go away to college. One of my dogs, a Dutch Shepherd, is a protection dog. Every now and then we do some obedience and bite work routines. And go to a Crossfit gym. I was a better athlete earlier, however. Now I just make sure I get there 3 times a week to fit into my tailored suits.

What is your favorite hang out place?

I currently like 30 Hop in Coralville. I eat at the bar. The staff is friendly. They have big TVs with sports on. I don't really follow sports, but I can get glued onto a game of almost any sort. If it's soccer, I will text my 14-year-old son about it. If it's women's basketball, I cheer Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese - I like her too. Going there takes my mind off from work for a little bit. Sports are also better than cable news, which try to pander to our fears and only increase my anxiety.

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

I would be one of those wild dragons from the House of the Dragon, the HBO show. Dragons are mysterious, very strong, and powerful. They breathe fire and live near volcanoes - if in the wild. Wild ones also answer to no one. They can fly long distances. With the exception of an unfortunate goat or two, they might eat every now and then, they bother no one. I might be worried, however, if a Targaryen - these are humans from a specific family with magical abilities to bond with dragons - finds me. If that happens, I hope it is one of the good Targaryens and summons me for a worthy cause, and not one of the crazy ones that will use me to wreak havoc. I guess even dragons have weaknesses, but I'm not striving for perfection. I'll just try to go very far away and get lost in some unknown volcano somewhere. Independence, a warm home, flying abilities, fire breath, and an occasional goat dinner seems like a great life for me.

Can you share a recent book/movie/performance that you found compelling and why?

I am currently reading David Brooks' "How to Know a Person." It's a book on how to listen attentively to people to get to know them well, and them to get to know you. I have learned a lot about myself reading the book, especially how selfish I can be, how many times we do little to really get to know people and understand their points of view. This is a human skill, a life skill that we all need in these polarized times. It is also a skill that any teacher, like me, needs to improve on. It's helping me learn how to make good questions to my students and how to listen to their answers, all to better understand their perspectives and how they might be learning in class.

What attracted you to the University of Iowa?

I wanted to work for a law school with a good track record in getting its students into law jobs. The College of Law has one of the best records doing this in the whole United States. I also wanted to be in a big research university that would support my interdisciplinary scholarship, and it is doing that.

What surprised you the most about the university?

The resources available to those of us who care deeply about research and writing. They are truly great.

What shaped your interest in your discipline?

I am a socio-legal scholar focusing on workers' rights and labor movements. In my hometown of San Juan, the labor movement, despite having a small membership, had a tremendous ability to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people for economic justice issues. It ensured that ordinary workers had a voice in both minor and major decisions affecting the island, or at least made a concerted effort to do so. This experience convinced me that labor movements and workers' rights are essential for preserving the middle class and democracy. Since then, I have dedicated myself to studying and writing about labor movements, labor law, and their institutions in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and beyond. Occasionally, I return to my roots and write about Puerto Rico once again.

How would you explain to a child what you do?

I would say something like this: "I learn and teach about how your mom, dad, and other grown-ups can make sure their bosses treat them fairly, and how grown-ups and their bosses can get along better."

What is the best advice you received as a student, and do you still follow that advice today?

"Nothing beats working hard." I follow that advice today. I don't think I am particularly gifted or have supernatural intelligence, but I do wake up early - 5 am or so - since my college days, to get an early start on my reading, or writing, etc. My suite mates in college thought I was a bit nuts. But that has been me for 30 years or so now. And it has paid off.

Tell us about a project or achievement of which you are particularly proud.

I am currently proud of my book project on worker centers, which are community organizations representing low-wage workers. To write my book, I embedded myself in one of these centers as an organizer, learning about their activities and methods firsthand. Through this project, I have gained insights into how resource-strapped collectives can significantly impact the rights that protect subordinated populations, such as low-wage workers. As I write, I explore and define what dignity, equity, and equality mean to these activist entities and how to make these concepts recognizable in law. Like many who attend law school, I pursued this path to make the world a better place (I don't care if this sounds cheesy), and I believe my project aims to move us closer to that goal.

In what ways have you engaged with professional activities outside the institution (local, regional, national)?

Many. Just to name some: I am in the leadership teams of the Labor Law Group and the Labor Law Research Network. Both are prestigious groups of academic labor lawyers. The Labor Law Group is American, and focuses on making educational materials, like casebooks. The Labor Law Research Network organizes international conferences on labor law every two years. Currently, I am helping with the 2025 meeting taking place in Bangkok, Thailand. I am also active in the American Bar Association. This fall I will speak at their big meeting in New York on free speech rights in the workplace, especially in our politically polarized times.

How do you see your work impacting your field?

It's hard to institute laws that protect populations with scant resources. Even good legislation can be watered down by the courts if someone hires powerful law firms to  ask for such things from judges. Workers can't hire those firms, so they get less access to justice. My work tries to figure out how workers can get rights and retain them despite being underdogs. Organizing themselves, such as in unions and worker centers is one way to do this. To the extent my scholarship helps us understand how to put together unions and worker centers, then I think I am impacting the field of labor law.

What changes are on the horizon for your work or your discipline?

After I finish my book on worker centers, I want to start a new line of research and scholarship on relational contracts, specifically those contracts that help parties collaborate for innovative projects, such as to develop a new, life-saving drug. This would be my first project outside labor and employment law or workers' rights. But it will be in some manner inspired in labor law. One of the new, exciting concepts of relational contracting include a duty to bargain in good faith. The same concept has a long, long history in labor law. So relational contracting can learn from labor law. I believe I can enrich our understanding of this branch of contract via labor law.

What piece of advice would you give to today's students?

Ask questions. Tell truths. Be like the child in the tale of "The Emperor's New Clothes." Call out the emperor’s undress if he's truly naked. Don't be afraid to seem stupid or inept, like the townsfolk in that tale. Maybe everyone else is just afraid to speak up. One of the greatest things of being young and inquisitive is your capacity to question things others won't or can't.

Where do you see your career taking you?

I am mid-career, so I have been around the block for a while, but I also have some time left in this business. In my 15 years or so in it, my career has taken me many places I did not imagine I would go, including to fancy U.S. schools, practicing law in New York, the US Midwest, Sweden, where I worked for half a year, or Chile, where I spent 7 months at their labor inspectorate. So, I'm not exactly sure. But at some point, I think that I will lead something, maybe a law school or some type of NGO. As long as it is something that helps us collectively better understand the world, learn and speak truths, and contribute to what MLK called “the arc of the moral universe" bending toward justice, I would feel fulfilled enough to retire on a beach back home in Puerto Rico.

In closing, what words of wisdom would you like to share, what quotation or person inspires you, what does the next chapter look like? Give us your "off the top of your head" responses to these or other summary thoughts.

I like the dialogue between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. In that story, Alice, frazzled by the new place she's in, and lost, meets the Cheshire Cat at a junction. She then starts a conversation with him. It went something like this:

Alice: "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

Cheshire Cat: "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."

Alice: "I don't much care where–"

Cheshire Cat: "Then it doesn't matter which way you go."

It's okay not to know exactly where you'll get to, but you at least must know where you'd like to go.