A Profile in Balance By James G. McGiffin, Jr., Esquire
Reneta Green-Streett: Don’t be Alarmed, It’s Just an Animal Print
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f I aspire to be the best lawyer I can be, I must first try to be the best person I can be. I am fortunate to know many lawyers who have succeeded in their work, in part, because they are excellent people. This column in The Journal will feature an article on one such lawyer. Each featured lawyer will exemplify the art of balance in life. I have learned much from these people. Perhaps readers will also benefit. • •
- Jim McGiffin •
Reneta Green-Streett grabs attention whenever she appears on the scene. Everything about her, from the exotically adorned fingernails to the little-girl voice that escapes from this very fashionably attired woman to the beyond-her-years poise and confidence, makes an observer sit up and take notice. And, she is doing good things with this attention. Reneta is very much a “local.” She was born in Seaford and grew up on her grandfather’s Greenwood dairy farm. Her first pets were cows, but farm life was not her calling. Reneta’s mother had married when Reneta was 4-years-old, and her new step-father’s brother was John Garey. After watching “uncle” John perform in a moot court competition as a law student, Reneta made up her mind that she would become a lawyer. Her mother, a frequent adversary in argument, had to agree with this career choice. Upon graduation from Milford High School, Reneta left Delaware to attend 26
County and was further delighted when it became clear that Judge Young was not interested in changing her writing style. After her year at the Court, Reneta took a job as an associate with Judge Young’s former firm, now operated by his son, Jeff Young, and partner Brian McNelis. Reneta focuses on insurance defense work. She enjoys the challenge of assessing people and the credibility of their stories. This work affords her an opportunity to use both her Oprahesque demeanor and her own steel will.
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William and Mary where she majored in English and Sociology and minored in Black Studies. Her attachment to home was strong, however, and after graduating, Reneta decided to return to southern Delaware. As fortune would have it, Pat Scanlon was moving his law practice to Milford, and he hired Reneta to assist in debt collection matters. She did that for three years before returning to William and Mary for her law degree. Reneta spent her law school summers at a large law firm in Wilmington, but Delaware’s metropolis held no appeal for her. She was pleased to accept a clerkship with The Honorable Robert B. Young of the Superior Court in Kent
She is also known to cross the threshold of the Family Court upon occasion. Reneta volunteers for the Office of the Child Advocate and handles the Court appointments that come her firm’s way. She views this work as an opportunity to learn by working well outside her comfort zone in the Superior Court. She also appreciates the opportunity to help people with issues other than monetary compensation. Reneta lives in Smyrna with her husband, Branden, who is in the United States Air Force. They share their home with 3 dogs: Delilah (a black Pomeranian), Dixon (a fawn Pug), and Darbi (a black Pug). She visits with her mother a couple of times each week. “I’m a momma’s baby,” she confesses. She also stays in touch with her godson who lives in Rehoboth. And, perhaps only tangentially related to her litigation practice, she kickboxes four times each week. This fall, Reneta has spent a great deal of time in rehearsal for the DSBA-