The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) said that the Faculty had failed to properly investigate Mr McConnachie, who told the woman he would have sex with Sandy Brindley, the chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, “just to have something over her”.

He also sent the woman a sexually explicit photo while in the toilets at Livingston High Court.

In another text he said a client was a “lying c***”.

The SLCC said the Faculty’s complaints committee’s decision-making was not “a fair and thorough examination of all the evidence” and was “unsatisfactory”.

The woman who reported Mr McConnachie said: “The Faculty behaves like a boys’ club and I felt the complaints committee prioritised protecting its own reputation over getting to the truth. I lost all confidence in them and almost gave up.”

The SLCC told the Faculty to pay her £1,500 compensation and to revise its complaints procedure.

The woman added: “I feel encouraged by the SLCC report but its will take more than that for the Faculty to drag itself into the modern age.”

A spokesman for the Faculty of Advocates said: “We are deeply sorry for the distress caused to the complainant. We will follow the recommendations made by the SLCC in its report and take time to consider the rest of the findings in detail.”