Lee Bromberg, of Bromberg & Sunstein, will leave the firm he co-founded 30 years ago because the firms 16 remaining partners want to remain independent.

Bruce Sunstein, who built the firm with Bromberg and another lawyer, said offers to join with other firms have come almost monthly for many years. He said partners’ routine response was: “We’re flattered. Thanks, but no thanks ... We love practicing as an independent firm. And for good or for ill, we’re going to continue to do that.’’

The pace of law firm mergers has slowed since the start of the global financial crisis, but deals continue. This month, boutique New York firm McKee Nelson was acquired by Boston law firm Bingham McCutchen, which wanted to expand its financial services and tax practices.

While, founder of a boutique firm, Matthew Lowrie, left the Cambridge practice he helped start, Lowrie, Lando and Anastasi, to join New York-based Foley & Lardner.