Youssef El-Guindy
Tenant Shield Founder
London, UK
About Youssef
Background and Legal Experience
Youssef is a Bar Course graduate with a First-Class law degree and a national advocacy championship title. He has developed practical legal experience in Housing law through frontline roles, including as a County Court Duty Advocate, at Shelter, and at one of the UK’s largest legal aid firms. His work has consistently involved assisting vulnerable clients and responding to legal issues under urgent time pressures.
Advocacy in Practice: The County Court and Casework
As one of the youngest County Court Duty Advisors in the UK, Youssef successfully defended over 50 tenants from eviction, often with just minutes to prepare. He appeared in urgent, high-pressure hearings where clients were frequently unrepresented and unaware of their rights. His advice and advocacy led to adjournments, suspended possession orders, and successful challenges to eviction warrants. He also secured numerous orders give ‘permission to defend’ possession claims, providing tenants with the opportunity to prepare a thorough defence to the possession claim. Youssef’s cases would often involve clients facing disabilities and hardship, and Youssef consistently adopted a calm and strategic approach to ensure their rights were properly identified, raised, and protected, even under significant time pressure.
Earlier, Youssef worked as a caseworker at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, where he assisted with homelessness applications, suitability reviews, and housing disrepair matters. He also volunteered with Shelter’s court team, supporting real-time advocacy and engaging directly with Defendants moments before hearings. These experiences sharpened his ability to deliver rapid, rights-based advocacy under pressure and deepened his commitment to accessible legal support.
Frontline Experience - Housing Injustice
During his role as County Court Duty Advisor, Youssef witnessed the realities of housing injustice up close. Defendants very frequently arrived at court without prior legal support, lacking essential evidence and a clear understanding of their rights. Many were unrepresented, facing complex legal proceedings with minimal legal or evidential preparation. Youssef was able to successfully prevent unjust possession orders, suspend eviction warrants, and advance Equality Act defences—often for individuals whose vulnerabilities had been overlooked or inadequately addressed by local authorities.
Recognising a Systemic Problem
These experiences highlighted the wider structural crisis in access to housing justice. With over 25 million people in England and Wales living in legal aid deserts, the erosion of public funding has left many unable to secure help at the earliest and most critical stages. Youssef saw firsthand how the lack of early legal support can determine the trajectory of someone’s life.
Founder of Tenant Shield
In response, Youssef founded Tenant Shield—a legal-tech platform designed to help close the access-to-justice gap in housing law. The platform leverages user-focused design, Ai and pre-built legal tools to empower tenants to understand and assert their rights at key decision points in the eviction process. It’s a tool built with the realities of frontline housing injustice in mind.
A Vision for the Future
Youssef’s work lies at the intersection of law, technology, and public service. He is committed to innovation in social welfare law and is pursuing his path to the Bar with a long-term mission: to expand access to justice, shape a more equitable legal landscape, and challenge structural inequality through principled advocacy.
Tenant Shield is not just a legal tool,
it is a social justice initiative.
We are redefining what legal help looks like in the 21st century and ensuring that no one is left behind just because they can’t afford representation or navigate the legal maze alone.