Harvard law professor and celebrity defense attorney Alan Dershowitz is advising a former pharmaceutical executive charged with killing her autistic 8-year-old son in a New York luxury hotel.

Dershowitz joined Gigi Jordan and her other lawyers at a court appearance Tuesday. Attorney Ron Kuby said Dershowitz was there as a “constitutional consultant.” The lawyers declined to elaborate on his role.

Jordan has pleaded not guilty to murder in son Jude Mirra’s February 2010 death. Authorities say she wrote a letter saying she planned to kill herself and her son, gave him a deadly overdose of prescription pills and apparently took some herself.

Dershowitz’ clients have included Patricia Hearst, Mike Tyson, and O.J. Simpson.

Jordan made a fortune in the drug industry before leaving it to devote herself to her son.