Hear intellectual laying down the law (11)
I believe the answer is:
judgemental
'laying down the law' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'hear intellectual' is the wordplay.
'hear' becomes 'judge' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'intellectual' becomes 'mental' (similar in meaning).
'judge'+'mental'='JUDGEMENTAL'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for judgemental that I've seen is " inclined to be critical".)