Ruth Henke was educated at Howells School, Llandaff before reading Jurisprudence at Worcester College, Oxford from 1983 to 1986. She then undertook her Bar Finals at the Council of Legal Education in London the following year.

From 1989 to July 2001 she practised in Swansea, before moving to join the Family Law team at 30 Park Place.

She practises primarily in areas of law affecting children. Her particular areas of specialisation include Children Act applications (both public and private law), Education Law, Mental Health Law and Administrative Court work. She is also frequently instructed by public bodies, particularly Local Authorities, to advise on matters of policy, including Public Interest Immunity (PII).

In Chambers & Partners Guide to the Legal Profession 2007 she is "...recommended for her ancillary relief work and is thought of as being 'focused, well-prepared and robust'", and in 2008 described as someone who "...works incredibly hard, very sage, with a clear understanding of where a case should be going".

Ruth Henke was counsel to the Carlile Review "Too Serious a Thing", and was a member of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Children Review which reported in 2006.

She has also provided lectures to the National Assembly for Wales and the Department of Health on information-sharing in child protection.