On the face of it, the strata law firm seems to be at fault here since they have allowed the law firm to proceed without proper instruction.
I would recommend that you try to have a sit-down meeting or mediation with all parties present. Failing that, tell the strata managers that if they don’t refund your money and deal with the money owed to the lawyers, you are going to run them through Fair Trading and NCAT.
There are restrictions on owners corps that actually do want legal representation. There’s no way you should be getting charged for legal advice when you didn’t want it.
But talk first before going to the barricades.
And this is one of those situations where you can see the clear need for a strata Ombudsman.