Take a Moment to Meet Rolly Samp

When people really need an attorney, they often call Rolly Samp. If you value experience and ingenuity, you’ll find an abundance of both in the counsel offered by Samp and his staff.

A native of Flandreau, South Dakota, Samp has a storied and multi-faceted career including law, business, writing, government, public policy, politics, lecturing, and publishing.

During his 54-year practice of law, Rolly Samp has earned the respect of his peers with the highest independent evaluation an attorney can achieve, the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings: AV Preeminent®.

He’s put his skills to work fighting for families, farmers, and small business owners, earning a reputation for taking on cases many others refuse and winning the tough ones.

Samp successfully masterminded and negotiated the dramatic release of a baby held hostage by Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Drug Cartel. He also was co-counsel for a young lady who was wrongfully accused of drug trafficking. His legal team argued and achieved a winning verdict of innocent in the Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN), the Mexican institution serving as the country's highest court of the Mexican Federal Government.

Samp has placed his stamp on South Dakota law. He’s credited with authoring the state’s economic development tax incentive, South Dakota’s original home school legislation, state administrative procedure amendments, Rural Ambulance District laws, and local tax option legislation.

For over 20 years, he has been president of SFEA, a nonprofit housing entity serving thousands of low-income families in South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska.

Government experience gives Samp a seasoned perspective. He served six years heading the South Dakota field staff of U.S. Rep. Ben Reifel; the first plains Native American elected to the U.S. Congress. At age 25, he was Chief of Staff for Governor Frank Farrar. His political consulting firm has handled more than 700 campaigns; winning 92 percent of the contests. He is the State's longest-serving Republican Precinct Committeeman, elected since 1964. Samp was awarded one of 30 “Outstanding Citizen Awards” from Gov. William Janklow who engraved on the back, “You made me look good a lot of days.”

Samp served eight years as Chief Tribal Judge for the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe. He has been active in Native American law with his work for the Hon. Ben Reifel (former Congressman and Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.) Rolly’s leadership included successfully defeating a referendum to mandate state jurisdiction over Indian reservations. He also assisted the organization of the United Sioux Tribes. Rolly and his wife, Karen, helped raise several Native American foster children. In 1986, the United Sioux Tribes gave him their highest honor with a blessed peace pipe in appreciation for his decades of service to indigenous people. While serving as Tribal Judge, Samp was a member of the Northern Plains Tribal Judges Association.

For 19 years, Samp was Risk Manager for the NFL (National Football League) Super Bowls. He held that same position for the Ford 100th Anniversary celebration and several NCAA Final Four tournaments.

Samp has personally represented entities on over $8 billion in financing on Wall Street. He has served more than 5,000 families and 800 business entities during his legal career.

When South Dakotans need a leader for numerous civic endeavors, they often turn to Rolly Samp. He organized a citizen effort to successfully authorize and fund a four-year medical school for the state. In 1976, he helped lead a statewide fight to repeal a dairy marketing law that had artificially set low milk prices. He successfully fought for the authorization of private college student funding in 1976. He helped in passing the State’s parochial/Christian school tuition law. And in 1977, Samp was one of the leaders who helped end the 40-year ban on championship high school football playoffs in South Dakota.

In 1985, he was the founder of South Dakotans to Save Our Lakes, serving as president of the organization from 1987 to 1991. Samp has served as a Director for the Lake Madison Development Association for over 40 years. He’s the volunteer editor of The Lake News, the world’s largest lake newspaper, now in its 36th year of publishing.

For several years, Samp was president of the Dakota Chapter, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. And founder of Cystic Fibrosis clinics in the state. At the State Fair in 1995, he helped honor South Dakota World War II veterans by producing “South Dakota Remembers,”; the WWII golden anniversary celebration. He also produced the State’s 2001 unveiling of the World War II Memorial on Capitol Lake.

Samp served on the Building Committee for the iconic pyramid sanctuary addition for St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. He served as the vice president and president of Hope Lutheran Church and several years as a delegate to the Dakota Crossroads Conference and the South Dakota ELCA State Convention. He served on the Augustana College Fellows Cabinet. Samp is the founder of the Fellowship of Christian Estate Planners. He served as Secretary/Director of the USS South Dakota Battleship Memorial for several years and is active in preserving the legacy of World War II’s most decorated battleship.

Samp was a volunteer youth basketball coach for 18 years and spent five years as a Scout leader. In 1989, he was the recipient of the “Friend of 4H Award” and received their “Humanitarian of the Year” award. In 1991, he was also presented a special achievement award by the South Dakota Hall of Fame.

Samp has a long history of giving back to our community. He served as a delegate to the South Dakota Futures Convention, on the Minnehaha County Bicentennial Committee, the Siouxland Libraries board, and as Chairman of the Minnehaha County Ambulance Study Committee. At the request of Mayor Mike Huether, Samp served on the advisory committee to build the Midco Aquatic Center.

He was the founding member of the Governor’s Task Force on trust reform, leading to successfully revising the state’s surety and trust laws. Samp co-authored a USD Law Review article in 1999 on the “Negligent Situs of Trusts.” Samp’s leadership in reforming the South Dakota trust laws has led to the recognition of South Dakota as the best place to keep your money, as declared by Forbes, Fortune, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and other national media and respected financial institutions.

A prolific writer, Samp authored and coordinated the publication of “The Governors of South Dakota.” His weekly column, “What’s the Law?” has reached approximately 400,000 readers. 

He’s been a periodic columnist to the FYI E-letter. Samp’s various articles have been featured in national publications including Communicating for Agriculture, Farm Journal, Outdoor Life, and Conservation Digest. Rolly was a special consultant for Dan Rather and CBS News for a weeklong television special in 1987, “Farm Crisis.” His books include “Final Tithe – A Christian Approach to Estate Planning,” “The Murdo Massacre.” and “If you Like the '50s, You’ll Love These Stories.”

He holds a degree in political science and communications from Augustana College and a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Dakota. While at Augustana, Samp was a member of the National Champion College Debate Team. He was selected for the Sen. Francis Case Leadership Award and the Sen. Robert Taft Award, among many other honors. He and his wife, Karen, were the Argus Leader newlywed “Couple of the Year” in 1964 and have been madly in love for almost 60 years.

Rolly and his family are members of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Rolly and Karen have four children, Michael, Matthew, Rebecca, Elizabeth, four grandchildren, Jacob, Margaret, Peter, and Scarlett. Rolly and Karen and their children served as foster parents for over 70 youth over the course of 18 years.