February 17, 1998

Norton Herrick raises stakes in his lawsuit against Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, saying there are other cases in which the law firm turned against one client, or that client's best interests, so that another client could profit; Herrick's lawsuit, filed four year ago, holds that he was a client of Skadden Arps as a member of TOG Acquisition Co but that firm turned its back on him in dispute he is having with other TOG investors and sided with them just as potentially lucrative business deal was culminating; firm says that two of investors, Stephen D Weinroth and Stephen C Swid, as well as TOG, were its true clients, not Herrick, and that it had no choice other than to complete deal without him; client disputes, particularly those involving a firm's representation of two or more parties whose interests may be in conflict, have become more of a problem as legal business has become more competitive and firms have grown in size; photos (M)

Women's ice hockey, despite Olympic recognition, is still struggling; players for Brooklyn Blades, who steal ice time from careers as professors, doctors, lawyers, advertising executives and writers, comment; photos (M)

Sinn Fein Faces Censure Britain moved closer to temporary expulsion of Sinn Fein, the I.R.A. political wing, from Ulster talks on the ground the I.R.A. was involved in two recent killings. Page A5. A Rise in Osteopaths While medical schools are cutting back on the numbers they graduate, colleges of osteopathy are expanding as more join those using hands-on therapy. Page F1.

New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir, in unusual arrangement, has agreed to base 200 police officers in new financial district substation to be provided and maintained by Alliance for Downtown New York; Alliance is business improvement district representing number of influential Wall Street area companies; Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani says substation will provide added security in area that could be target for terrorism; hails private financing; some City Council members and community leaders score plan to assign added officers to one of city's safest areas, rather than to more dangerous but less affluent areas; Councilman Sheldon S Leffler cites concern about role of Safir's wife, Carol, who first approached group to fund new home for Police Museum, which it is also funding (M)

Profile of and interview with Samuel Ramey, bass who has made a career of playing the devil; 55-year-old Kansan has made more than 80 recordings, making him the most listened-to bass in history; photo (M)