[1] Austin received a juris doctor from the UF College of Law in 1958, and was admitted to the Florida Bar on November 6, 1959.

In 1963, he was appointed by Governor Farris Bryant[2] as the first Public Defender for Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit, which consists of Duval, Nassau, and Clay Counties.

Jacksonville Mayor Hans Tanzler appointed Austin to serve as the city's General Counsel in 1972, but he returned to the State Attorney position in 1974 and was re-elected four times.

[1] His staff considered him a fair man with integrity and character who motivated his co-workers and mentored those he hired.

[1] Numerous individuals Austin hired and mentored went on to leadership positions in Jacksonville and the state of Florida, including Delaney, currently President of the University of North Florida; former Chief Justice Leander Shaw of the Florida Supreme Court, former general counsel Rick Mullaney, state Representative Mike Weinstein, Circuit Judge Brian Davis, Sulzbacher Center President Audrey Moran, and Chief Administrator Lex Hester.

His wife of 39 years, Patricia, died in a car accident near St. Augustine in 1996; he was a passenger and was also injured, but recovered.

The Ed Austin Regional Park in Arlington was dedicated in 2005,[8] and a $150,000 endowed scholarship was established at the University of North Florida during 2008 in his honor.