Ilaria Pretelli (PhD: France and Italy, 2005) has been teaching private international law and comparative law in France and Switzerland, and, in line with the Italian tradition, also public international law and European Union Law in Italy. She has also been a practising lawyer in Italy (Foro di Pesaro). The main focus of her most recent research is on family and succession law in connection with human rights, children’s rights and women’s rights. However, her constant attention to developments in other areas of law, such as the law of obligations, labour law, civil procedure and, more recently, the law relating to digital platforms, has allowed her to promote a philosophical appreciation of the lines of evolution of legal research by placing the dynamics of socio-legal change in a broader context. She has been called on by the European Parliament and, more recently, by the European Commission to provide her expertise in private international law during the EU processes for the revision of legislation as regards: the Brussels I and Brussels II systems, and the recent proposal for a Regulation on Parenthood.