At a time when it seems like every month a law firm acquires or merges with another firm, many small and midsize firms deliberately have stayed off that playing field. There are no shortcuts to managing, growing and maintaining a law firm, and the approach that works for some does not work for all. For the firms that seek to maintain long-term independence, remaining true to who they are and their original goals helps ensure their staying power, allowing them to remain a consistent partner to clients. As we emerge from COVID, legal publications regularly tout the benefits of law firm combinations. But the increasingly popular belief that small and midsize firms must acquire or be acquired is wrong. My firm, Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, is an example of why.