Part-time law students are often forced to battle the misguided assumption, both before and after graduation, that they’re merely dabbling in the legal profession, according to law school faculty and former students.

“You’d be surprised by how many part-time students go to law school looking for the full experience,” Vania Smith, a 2020 graduate of The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, said during a panel discussion Friday presented as part of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) 2022 annual meeting.