White and Williams opened its 11th office location this week in Towson, Maryland, after spending the last eight months formalizing the acquisition of a six-lawyer boutique that specializes in the high-demand area of legal representation of surety bonds.

The Philadelphia-based civil litigation shop’s formal partnership with 11-year-old Pike & Gilliss represents a bid by firm leaders to cash in on the explosion in commercial real estate development along the East Coast and the rising tide of surety bonds used to ensure the completion of such projects.