Lawyer and Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz said Monday President Trump was approaching the process of selecting a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy with the mindset that he'll likely have the opportunity to nominate up to five justices to the highest court in the country.

"I think the president is looking at the big picture," Dershowitz told CNN of a phone conversation he had with Trump a few days ago.

"This is only one of several nominations he expects to make. And I think what he's thinking about tonight or what he thought about today was who should be the first of my picks?" Dershowitz continued. "He's anticipating making two, three, four, maybe five picks over the years. And so he's kind of setting out a program for who he would like to pick over the years."

Dershowitz added he believed Trump would choose U.S.District Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and that it is unlikely Kavanaugh would take steps to overturn the 1973 landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade.

Dershowitz has been highly critical of special counsel Robert Mueller's federal Russia investigation, which is probing ties between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia.

Kennedy announced his retirement in June, which will be effective July 31.