Loyal beginning, having broken law (8)
I believe the answer is:
stalwart
'loyal' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'beginning having broken law' is the wordplay.
'beginning' becomes 'start' (synonyms).
'having' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'broken' is an anagram indicator.
'law' is an anagram of 'lwa'.
'start' enclosing 'lwa' is 'STALWART'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stalwart that I've seen before include "Tart laws could be strong and sturdy" , "Loyal servant" , "Sturdy, tenacious and tough" , "Strong and reliable" , "Walt's rat is strong and brave" .)