diff --git a/src/cappa/class_inspect.py b/src/cappa/class_inspect.py
index 3540e25..fbdbac3 100644
--- a/src/cappa/class_inspect.py
+++ b/src/cappa/class_inspect.py
@@ -186,13 +186,14 @@ def from_cls(cls, obj: type) -> ClassTypes | None:
             return cls.msgspec
 
         try:
+            from pydantic import BaseModel
             import pydantic
         except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
             pass
         else:
             try:
                 is_base_model = isinstance(obj, type) and issubclass(
-                    obj, pydantic.BaseModel
+                    obj, BaseModel
                 )
             except TypeError:  # pragma: no cover
                 is_base_model = False