The Law Society said it had “undertaken an internal process” but would be making no further comment due to the “confidential nature of that process”.
It added that it acknowledged “the concern that this has caused”.
“We are committed to facilitating appropriate consideration of the use of character references following conviction, acknowledging that there will be a broad range of views. “
Nicola said she was surprised and disappointed by this response and called for greater “transparency” from the Law Society and “more reassurance” for victims.
She contrasted it with the “very firm and decisive action” that was taken by Lavery’s other employers at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC).
On Wednesday afternoon, Law Society President Mark Borland said he had listened to Nicola’s powerful testimony.
He added that he profoundly regretted “the distress and trauma that this has caused for her and for the other victims of William Lloyd Lavery”.
“I am deeply sorry if the society has in any way compounded their pain,” Borland said.
He said the Law Society “has conducted an internal process and for reasons of confidentiality, we are limited in what we can say publicly”.
“I know that will be disappointing but I want to assure Nicola and other victims that we hear them, we are listening to their concerns and experiences and we are committed to ensuring that their voice is heard in the public debate about the use of character references following conviction,” he said.
He added that the Law Society will “take steps immediately to convene that discussion with our members and we will seek to include the voices of victims and survivors including, if they felt appropriate, the victims in this case”.
On Tuesday, Northern Ireland Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant removed Lavery from his post as a human rights commissioner.
The Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said the NIHRC found that Lavery had breached the NIHRC code of governance, and was “capable of bringing the commission into disrepute”.
Elaine Crory from the Women’s Resource and Development Agency said the Law Society needed to be “more transparent” with what is going on in its internal investigation.
“I do think that they owe the public, and especially the survivors in this case a proper explanation of what that entails.”
Reacting to Borland’s statement, she told Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra programme there was “not much meat to it”.
“You can respect somebody’s confidentiality and you can also tell us the public what did that internal review entail,” she said.
The Law Society’s decision not to reveal the outcome of its own internal process was criticised by the chair of Stormont’s Justice Committee Paul Frew.
“To stay silent on this I think is wrong,” the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member told News NI.
“I think they have to, at the very least, tell us what their conclusions were and how they got to those conclusions.”
Frew said openness and transparency was required so the public could have confidence in the decision-making process.