diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index 1e3a5f27..0087d1d2 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 import pytest
 
+from werk24.utils.defaults import Settings
 from werk24.utils.exceptions import InvalidLicenseException
 from werk24.utils.license import (
     License,
@@ -127,3 +128,9 @@ def test_find_license_no_valid_license(mock_search_paths):
     ):
         with pytest.raises(InvalidLicenseException):
             find_license()
+
+
+def test_settings_invalid_log_level():
+    """Ensure invalid log levels raise an error."""
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        Settings(log_level="BOGUS")
diff --git a/werk24/utils/defaults.py b/werk24/utils/defaults.py
index adc570ea..ab506ba3 100644
--- a/werk24/utils/defaults.py
+++ b/werk24/utils/defaults.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 from typing import Set
 
 from packaging.version import Version
-from pydantic import AnyUrl, Field, HttpUrl
+from pydantic import AnyUrl, Field, HttpUrl, field_validator
 from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
 
 
@@ -61,24 +61,15 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     max_https_retries: int = Field(3, ge=0)
     """Maximum retries for HTTPS requests. Must be greater than or equal to 0."""
 
-    @staticmethod
-    def validate_log_level(cls, values):
-        """
-        Validates the `log_level` attribute.
-
-        Ensures that the log level is one of the accepted values.
-
-        Raises:
-        ------
-        ValueError:
-            If the `log_level` is not in the accepted set.
+    @field_validator("log_level")
+    @classmethod
+    def validate_log_level(cls, v: str) -> str:
+        """Validate the ``log_level`` attribute.
 
-        Returns:
-        -------
-        dict:
-            The validated values.
+        Ensures that the provided log level is one of the accepted values and
+        returns the validated value.
         """
         valid_log_levels = {"DEBUG", "INFO", "WARNING", "ERROR", "CRITICAL"}
-        if values.get("log_level") not in valid_log_levels:
+        if v not in valid_log_levels:
             raise ValueError(f"log_level must be one of {valid_log_levels}")
-        return values
+        return v