Law-abiding i.e. don't be criminal (8)
I believe the answer is:
obedient
'law-abiding' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'i e don't be criminal' is the wordplay.
'criminal' indicates anagramming the letters.
'i'+'e'+'dont'+'be'='iedontbe'
'iedontbe' anagrammed gives 'OBEDIENT'.
(Other definitions for obedient that I've seen before include "co-operative?" , "Doing what one is told, compliant" , "Ready to comply" , "Deferential" , "Willing to comply" .)