Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in California

Attorney takes 2 Kt diamond and keeps it as collateral.

In a divorce settlement, an attorney was negligent, at best, in handling the divorce case. The attorney in question represented the husband in divorce proceedings. She suggested he suppress information that the wife had an affair with an underage boy. A good attorney would have suggested he notify authorities PRIOR to the statute running out so a criminal record applied to this woman who has had a string of extramarital affairs. The husband ended up having to pay support/alimony, which actually EXCEEDED 50% of his income. Fortunately, the HR department at his current job informed him of such and they notified the court to reduce his payments. At the conclusion of the case, the wife approached the husband's attorney and gave her a 2 kt diamond that once belonged to the husband's deceased mother. The wife was also supposed to return an antique watch that belonged to the husband's mother but has yet to provide the watch, stating she can't find it. The attorney now refuses to give her client the diamond in her possesion and states she is holding it as collateral until he pays her fees.

Is this legal? If not, how do we go about challenging it? What is the basis for negligence/malpractice concerning an attorney?

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