The paper deals with the development of employment law over a fifteen-year period starting from the early 1990s, in dialogue with a number of key figures (among whom those of Pietro Ichino, Massimo D'Antona and Marco Biagi stand out) capable of bringing out with their contribution of thought the progressive changes historically contextualized and, otherwise, anticipating their future outcomes.These are issues that, although in different forms, are still current and in constant dialectic between an increasingly pronounced crisis in employment law and the opportunities that on the other hand are opening up. R. has skillfully grasped these opportunities also in this articulated piece of writing, identifying the critical aspects but also knowing how to meet the challenges arising from them.