Trent M. Sutton

  • Managing Partner-Singapore | Singapore Registered Foreign Lawyer
  • Singapore
tsutton@littler.com
Contact Assistant

Trent Sutton, an international employment attorney, helps multinational employers navigate and comply with the widely different employment obligations around the globe. Trent uses his experience, Littler’s broad international platform, and his own extensive network to provide strategic human resources and employment advice on a regional and global scale. Trent’s experience living in multiple countries in Asia gives him particular insight to the local customs, laws, and expectations of employers and employees in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

  • Global Point of Contact. Trent has many years’ experience serving as a Global Point of Contact for Asia Pacific corporations with employment needs in the Americas and Europe, as well as American companies with employment needs in APAC. As the Global Point of Contact, Trent provides strategic employment advice on a regional and global scale, manages multinational human resource initiatives, and connects clients with local counsel to facilitate their needs. Trent’s experience as a Global Point of Contact includes Fortune 100 Asia-based companies with operations in the US or globally, as well as Fortune 500 companies in the US with operations in Asia.
     
  • Employment Compliance Advice. Trent regularly advises on employment compliance issues, including terminations, investigations, discrimination and harassment claims, litigation, handbook and policy updates, and leave and wage issues. When needed, Trent assembles a team of attorneys across the globe to manage a client’s needs, and covers the full range of employment matters from employee handbooks and policies to disability leave, and executive compensation.
     
  • Global Transfers and Mobility. Trent supports employers with their mobile workforces. He regularly assesses his clients’ international transfer guidelines and practices; advises on the best approach to an employee traveling across borders; and drafts and/or updates the documentation necessary for secondments (long term and/or short term), transfers, localizations, and other mobility matters.
     
  • Global Expansion and Workforce Restructuring. Trent assists companies with the employment aspects of their expansion internationally and/or their restructuring efforts that cross national boundaries. Trent uses a top-down approach to such initiatives to ensure consistency and efficiency and involves local licensed counsel to ensure compliance and on-the-ground support for compensation, selection, union and labor negotiations, and other needs.
     
  • Management and HR Training. Trent is a sought-after trainer with highly positive feedback on numerous employment topics. He has trained hundreds of human resources, business and legal professionals on topics including employee engagement, change management, labor and union relations, and harassment and discrimination; as well as expatriate managers on harassment prevention, wage and hour compliance, documenting employee performance, handling employee complaints, interviewing applicants, bullying; and employees on sexual harassment laws, the importance of diversity and avoiding unconscious bias, and other human resource compliance issues.

*Not licensed to practice law in Singapore or appear in local courts. Littler partners with local firms to service clients on matters related to Singapore law.

Credentials & Recognition

Speaking Engagements

From Myth to Reality: Addressing the Strategies for Consistency in Handbooks Globally

  • May 8, 2024
  • Littler Executive Employer Conference, Phoenix, AZ

How Employment Law Developments in the U.S. and E.U. Impact Employers in Thailand

  • June 6, 2023
  • Bangkok, Thailand

Hot Topics in Employment Law for APAC HR/Counsel: A Focus on Business & Human Rights, Developments in Diversity Equity and Inclusion, and Retrenchments

  • October 26, 2022
  • Singapore

International Employment – What Global Benefits Professionals Should Know

  • November 30, 2021
  • Global Benefits Fundamentals, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

APAC Xchange – Technology & Innovation in the Legal Industry: How Developments are Changing the Roles & Responsibilities of In-House Counsel

  • June 2021
  • APAC ACC

APAC Regional Update – What Employers Need to Know

  • May 2021
  • Littler Executive Employer Conference

Advancing Your Return to Travel Strategy – Employer Panel

  • May 2021
  • IBIS 2021: Resilience, Gallagher / IBIS Academy

Commuters and Business Travelers: Compliance Issues Panel

  • April 2021
  • Global Tax Network Webinar

Trends and Changes Arising from COVID-19: Managing Employment Issues in 2021 at Singapore and US Workplaces

  • March 9, 2021
  • Client Webinar

How to Respond to the New Short-Term Remote Worker

  • March 2021
  • Global Tax Network Webinar

How to Respond to the New Long-Term Remote Worker

  • February 2021
  • Global Tax Network Webinar

The View From the Top With Remote Workers

  • October 7, 2020
  • Benivo Webinar

The Post-COVID-19 Workforce: What Should General Counsel Be Doing?

  • July 30, 2020
  • Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Asia-Pacific Digital Meeting

The Compliance and Legal Challenges of Global Mobility – a Panel Discussion

  • Q4 2018
  • Global Business Services Network (GBSN), Multiple U.S. Cities

I Don’t Know – Send It to HR: Employment Essentials for the Global Mobility Professional

  • May 8, 2018
  • IBIS Academy, Berlin, Germany

Severing Ties with the Mother Ship: Localization and Permanent Transfers

  • May 8, 2018
  • IBIS Academy, Berlin, Germany

Here Be Dragons: Dispelling the Top 10 Misconceptions of a Global HR Professional

  • May 8, 2018
  • IBIS Academy, Berlin, Germany

Looking Ahead in Asia: Managing Your Workforce Through 2018 and Beyond

  • May 3, 2018
  • Littler Executive Employer, Phoenix, AZ

2018 Legal Update – Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

  • February 15, 2018
  • Genesee Valley Chapter of SHRM and the National Human Resource Association – Rochester Affiliate, Rochester, NY

Toxic Employees: Strategies to Deal with "Pre-taliation" and Legal Protection Manipulation

  • November 14, 2017
  • National Human Resources Association, Rochester, NY

Lunch & Learn: Understanding Labor and Safety Issues in the U.S. and Get Prepared for Natural Disasters and Emergencies

  • November 3, 2017
  • China General Chamber of Commerce, New York, NY

Creative Approaches for Handling ADA and FMLA Issues in the Workplace: Actions You May Not Know You Can Take

  • September 25, 2017
  • 2017 NY State SHRM Conference, Albany, NY

When in Rome... the Essential for Localizing an Employee

  • May 4, 2017
  • Arthur J. Gallagher & Co’s Multination Benefits and HR Consulting IBIS Academy, Cannes, France

Is Global Mobility on the Agenda of Global Talent Management?

  • May 3, 2017
  • Arthur J. Gallagher & Co’s Multination Benefits and HR Consulting IBIS Academy, Cannes, France

Countdown – The List of “Most Difficult” Countries for Global

  • May 3, 2017
  • Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s Multinational Benefits and HR Consulting IBIS Academy, Cannes, France

Legal Update 2017

  • February 8, 2017
  • Genesee Valley Chapter of SHRM and the National Human Resource Association, Rochester, NY

Legal Issues in the EU: Conflict of Laws and the EU Posted Workers Directive

  • May 26, 2016
  • Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s Multinational Benefits and HR Consulting IBIS Academy, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Can Multinationals Introduce Global Employment Policies? The Challenges in Practice

  • May 19, 2016
  • Ajia Half Year Conference, Chicago, IL

Not Your Traditional Secondment: Trends and Pitfalls in the Transfer of Employees Across National Borders

  • May 6, 2016
  • The 2016 Executive Employer® Conference, Scottsdale, AZ

Complying with Corruption and Bribery Regulations: Strategies for Multinational Employers

  • April 15, 2016
  • Inter-Pacific Bar Association Annual Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Burning Issues in Employment Law - Lessons from Singapore, Malaysia, and the U.S.

  • April 12, 2016
  • Christopher Lee and Ong Seminar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Burning Issues in Employment: Employment in the U.S.

  • September 28, 2015
  • Forum with Delegation from the China Foundation for International Studies

Building your Team in the US: Recruitment, Employment and Negotiation

  • May 20, 2015
  • UK Trade & Investment Webinar

Additional Thought Leadership

Start-Up Guide for Foreign Employers in the United States (Second Ed.)

  • October 2013
  • Littler Report

The Financial Crisis: ruin or restoration of the labour movement?

  • September 2010
  • International Bar Association Employment & Industrial Relations Law Newsletter
  • Mark Schneider, Ellen Bronchetti

Books & Book Chapters

Catalyzing Women’s Advancement into Decision-Making Roles in Indonesia’s Banking and Fintech Sectors

  • Women’s World Banking
  • Contributing Author
  • May 2, 2023

Chapter 21: International Labor and Employment Law

  • International Corporate Practice: A Practitioner’s Guide to Global Success
  • Practising Law Institute, Chapter Co-Author: Philip Berkowitz
  • February 2021

Chapter 21: International Labor and Employment Law

  • International Corporate Practice: A Practitioner’s Guide to Global Success
  • Practising Law Institute, Chapter Co-Authors: Philip Berkowitz, Joseph Lazazzero, Philip Gordon and Stefan Marculewicz
  • 2013
  • Specific Corporate Compliance Challenges by Practice Area: Employment, Corporate Compliance Practices Guide
  • LexisNexis
  • 2013

Let us know how we can help you navigate your particular workplace legal issues.