Counsel honour because she is no longer active in the legal profession, a prominent Bermuda lawyer suggested yesterday.

But Mrs. Browne Evans' law partner dismissed the claim as "rubbish.'' In a speech to the Pembroke Rotary Club, Mr. Saul M. Froomkin, QC, JP, said the recent controversy over the QC honour has been marked by "considerable uninformed and frequently irrational commentary.'' The Bermuda Bar (Queen's Counsel) Rules, 1988 include requirements that the candidate "is considered to be of eminent stature in the practice of law in Bermuda,'' and "of the highest standard of professional reputation and integrity,'' Mr. Froomkin said in his breakfast speech at Rum Runners Restaurant.

"It is a misunderstanding or an ignorance of the first of those two qualifications which has recently caused much of the furore.'' News that the 35-year legal veteran and MP was turned down in her application for a QC sparked an uproar in Bermuda, with the QC system and the Bar Council which makes recommendations on the appointments being attacked from several different quarters.

Having a QC allows is mainly honorary. It allows a lawyer to wear silk robes instead of cotton ones and push up fees.

The rules state the applicant for QC must be of eminent stature in the practice of law and "it does not say `used to be,''' Mr. Froomkin said. "The honour is not bestowed on those of the profession who in the past have been eminent...or who have done great community work, or who have in the past done great service to the legal profession or the country.'' Mr. Froomkin said other honours, like knighthoods or Orders of the British Empire, are appropriate for "those members of the bar who were once of eminent stature in the profession but who are now retired or winding down...'' Nowhere in Mr. Froomkin's speech did he name Mrs. Browne Evans, but he described his comments as "the solution to the present controversy.'' But Opposition leader Mr. Frederick Wade, Mrs. Browne Evans' law partner, described Mr. Froomkin's speech as "rubbish.'' "Mrs. Browne Evans is very active in her practice,'' Mr. Wade said. "She did a couple of murder trials last year.'' She can now pick her cases, is very active in the family courts and with estate work, and has an important trial about to begin in Supreme Court, he said.