[3] Elkus was Chief Counsel for the state commission that investigated the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

While there he also represented the interests of Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia, and Belgium which were then at war with the Ottomans.

In April 1917, when the United States entered World War I against Germany, he was recalled, but serious illness prevented his homecoming for many months.

On November 12, 1919, Governor Alfred E. Smith appointed him to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William H. Cuddeback.

Elkus served on the court until December 31, 1920, and then accepted an appointment as one of the League of Nations Commissioners to settle the Åland Islands dispute between Finland and Sweden.