in 1920, malone ran for governor of new york as the candidate of the newly organized farmer-labor party. in the 1920 election, he got only 69,908 votes out of over 2.8 million cast. from 1920 on, he devoted himself to his law practice, specializing in international divorce cases of wealthy individuals and becoming known as "the greatest international divorce lawyer." he established a branch office in paris along with former judge william h. wadhams.