James Cayne. Chuck Prince. Zoe Cruz. Erin Callan. Just a few of the more prominent names that come to mind when considering the fallout in individual callings on Wall Street since the tsunami in the credit markets began its assault last summer.

Some, as Callan soon will at Credit Suisse, have reemerged. Others, like former banker Warren Spector, now heavily involved in theatre, are keeping more of a low profile. Others, mainly Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, are being prosecuted in court for conspiracy, fraud and insider trading.

Regardless of the individual circumstances, it's clear that Wall Street will never be quite the same.

"We're about to undergo a sea change, a transformation in the industry that will bring us back to more simplistic routes," says Russ Gerson, founder of recruiting firm The Gerson Group.

Many of the bankers who were shown the door before running for the exits themselves, as former Bear Stearns banker Douglas Sharon did when he took off for Morgan Stanley, will probably lose clients to former colleagues. "The atmosphere resembles All is Quiet on the Western Front, when Muller turned to Kemmerich asking him for his boots," says one former banker.

Veteran M&A and restructuring banker Daniel Celentano had spent the lion's share of his career at Bear. His decision to leave for boutique Evercore Partners after a two-decade span came almost immediately after his former employer's doomsday.

"It was a tragedy, the aftermath of which we all ultimately have to approach as an adventure. It was serious and sad but we all have to look ahead. This is an exciting environment to do business in and help companies in and that's what we are focused on."

He and other former Bear bankers agree they were blindsided by the firm's collapse.

"We all knew we were navigating through difficult times but didn't foresee the events unfolding as they did," says Celentano. "It happened very quickly."

Celentano joined Evercore as a senior managing director in the firm's restructuring business in June. He will continue to advise companies involved in restructurings, including General Motors, in connection with the Delphi bankruptcy.

The appeal of Evercore, he says, lies in the fact it's large enough to take on any-sized advisory client, like GM, while still allowing him to be nimble in responding to clients needs. And chances are in his line of work the pipeline is going to be pretty full for some time.

"My restructuring partners, Bill Repko and David Ying, and I are seeing the pace of work pick up," says Celentano. "And we're expecting that to continue."

Another stalwart Bear banker, John Fargis, left for middle-market bank Jefferies & Co. after a 14-year career as a senior banker on the media team. The reason? He wasn't asked to stay on at JPMorgan.

"I don't blame anybody," says Fargis. "And I don't have any hard feelings towards former colleagues at Bear Stearns nor the folks at JPMorgan. Everyone acted reasonably, fairly and responsibly. Circumstances change. I'm thrilled to have made the change and to be working with incredible partners at Jefferies."

Fargis, who while at Bear advised Thomson on its acquisition of Reuters, made the jump to Jefferies not because of any deep-rooted relationships he had with the firm's management but instead for the promise of extending his media roots.

"I have found my large clients have been universally receptive to Jefferies as a franchise, a name and an institution," says Fargis. "So I have no doubt that I will be able to continue the kinds of advisory relationships and execute a similar composition of deals working from this platform."

Another banker, Gene Taylor, was less forgiving, perhaps understandably so. He led investment banking at Bank of America during the course of a tenure which lasted nearly 40 years, before retiring last December on the heels of huge losses posted by BofA's investment banking business. He since resurfaced at Fortress Investment Group this summer. Taylor maintains that he is retired, and has merely taken on an advisory role at Fortress working on a part-time basis with some of his buddies.

Another banker, Gene Taylor, was less forgiving, perhaps understandably so. He led investment banking at Bank of America during the course of a tenure which lasted nearly 40 years, before retiring last December on the heels of huge losses posted by BofA's investment banking business. He since resurfaced at Fortress Investment Group this summer. Taylor maintains that he is retired, and has merely taken on an advisory role at Fortress working on a part-time basis with some of his buddies.