Regional Practitioner of the Year Diane Ruhl paid tribute to her own support network but also took time to encourage colleagues to seek help when they need.
The Principal of the Ruhl Family Law Centre in Townsville, Diane accepted the 2025 award at the Queensland Law Society Excellence in Law Awards on Saturday night in Brisbane.
“I must sincerely thank everyone who has been a part of my journey so far – my colleagues, mentors, staff at the firm at which I work but especially my family, and most importantly my wife,” Diane, a family lawyer of almost two decades, said.
“Thank you for supporting me through all the long days and long nights. This profession asks a lot of us.
“The work we do is difficult, emotionally, intellectually and often ethically. We are trusted to hold people’s stories in some of the most vulnerable moments and advocate with clarity and with care. It’s not easy but it’s important.
“Whether we are helping someone navigate a crisis, challenging a broken system or simply showing up to do what’s right, we are part of something bigger than ourselves and that sense of purpose is what has kept me going even on the hardest of days, of which there have been many.”
Diane said doing important work should not be at the expense of practitioners’ wellbeing.
“One of the most powerful things I have learnt in the last five years after seeing some of the best in our profession taken too soon is that we also need to take care of each other, to recognise when someone is struggling, to ask how they are really doing and to remind each other that is it okay to slow down when we need to,” she said.
“Prioritising our time ourselves doesn’t make us less committed; it makes us more sustainable, more present, more human.
“I’m grateful for this recognition, not just for what it means to me personally, but for what it reflects about our profession, this amazing profession we have, and also for recognising those in the regions.
“Let’s keep doing the hard work, the important work, and let’s keep looking after one another as we do it.”
In addition to running her firm, Diane is committed to ensuring regions have a voice and is the regional member of the College of Law – Queensland Chapter Board.
She has also served on the Family Law Practitioners Association Queensland as Regional Member, been President of both the North Queensland Law Association and Townsville District Law Association, and served on the Law Council of Australia’s Rural, Regional and Remote Lawyers Committee. 
Joshua Caeiro received his award from Genevieve Dee.
In-house Counsel of the Year Award winner Joshua Caeiro took the stage to Imagine Dragons’ On Top of the World, which he was feeling in a “room full of so many talented finalists”.
The Rio Tinto lawyer thanked his team and leaders for “believing in my vision which has so fundamentally changed the way we work for the better”.
Josh is passionate about innovation and leverages technology and AI to empower stakeholders, enhance efficiency and improve outcomes.
Recognised in the Financial Times’ 2024 APAC Kindness & Leadership list and named a 2025 finalist in the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards, Josh also contributes to industry thought leadership, including through speaking engagements with World Commerce and Contracting.
Courtney Thorne accepted the award on Denise’s behalf.
Another award winner passionate about change was Pride In Law recipient Denise Maxwell, who was thankful “for many years working away in the background” assisting members of the rainbow community to “navigate their way through the labyrinth of the law”.
The Pride in Law Award recognises outstanding contribution and commitment to the practice of LGBTIQA+ inclusion in the legal profession in Queensland.
The award was accepted by PIL Queensland’s President Courtney Thorne who read a message from Denise saying: “When I was admitted as a lawyer in the dark ages of word processors, dictation tapes and no internet, there was no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.
“It has been heartening over the years in my practice as a lawyer to see the change to laws that recognise the LGBTIQA+ community.”
Denise has supported Queensland’s LGBTIQA+ community for more than 30 years and founded her firm, Hensen Maxwell Solicitors, in 1998.
Keep an eye on Proctor for more award articles.
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