It could be that they were referring to his prominence as a non-labor lawyer, or that he hadn't had as many prominent cases after fallout from the LA Times case

It could be that they were referring to his prominence as a non-labor lawyer, or that he hadn't had as many prominent cases after fallout from the LA Times case, but it is generally a strange statement. No, he wasn't as famous before Leopold and Loeb, and Scopes, or the culturally immortal figure he became, but he had certainly been a prominent lawyer at a national level, not a local one. He had, as you point out, represented Debs, in federal trials over a major national strike, up to the Supreme Court. He had represented labor leaders in Idaho charged with conspiracy over the assassination of a former governor. He represented defendants accused of the LA Times bombing in California. For Leopold and Loeb, a question in the media was about wealthy families hiring such a prominent, high-priced lawyer. And the Scopes was essentially an organized publicity stunt that chose lawyers for both the prosecution and defense because they were famous and would attract attention.